


The Stuff of Legend

by Xanthiae (Casstea)



Series: Of Legends, Myths and Nightmares [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 63,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5680456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casstea/pseuds/Xanthiae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin are on the hunt for a rogue sorcerer. James, Sirius, Remus and Lily end up back in time through a door that shouldn't exist. Those who have been shunned by Uther's ban on magic have plotted their revenge, and are just waiting for their time to strike.</p><p>In the background, destiny directs its actors to the stage, and waits for the curtains to be raised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A reworking of a story first posted in 2010 on ff.net under the same title. It was part of a series including The Stuff of Myth and The Stuff of Nightmares. The project is to rework, and in most places re-write, a trilogy that was very close to my writing heart, and to finally give it the ending that it deserved.
> 
> A/N: Special Thanks to aadamoo whose post inspired me to get to work on this overhaul project that has been lying around for years. Also special thanks to those on tumblr who got me back into writing when I thought I had left it for good.
> 
> Character list to be updated as more chapters get added.
> 
> Full Story of 'Why are you totally re-writing your trilogy' at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own HP or Merlin, this is written for fun and not for profit.

Crashing through the undergrowth in a bundle of brown hair and flailing limbs, a man stumbled out of a bush; before collapsing to the floor in a heap.

“Merlin, what have I told you about picking your feet up?” another commented to the man lying on the floor, Merlin; as he too pushed himself through the thick foliage, carefully stepping around his fallen comrade.

Merlin grumbled something inaudible to the forest floor, before pushing himself back up again to face the amused smirk the other blonde haired man held on his face.

“Really I don’t know why I bring you on these trips,” the blonde man sighed, surveying the forest around him, his hand not straying far from the sword at his hip. He was dressed in armour, and from his distinct features, anyone in Camelot would instantly know him as _Prince Arthur_ , and pay him the appropriate respect.

Everyone that was, apart from Merlin.

“Because you wouldn’t survive otherwise,” Merlin commented, and then, with a stern glance from Arthur, added, “Sire.”

“Being Prince of Camelot means I _can_ survive Merlin,” Arthur replied dryly, “you would have thought you would have worked that out by now.”

“I don’t think that you would have been able to ‘survive’ that supposed attack last night?” Merlin asked, watching as Arthur’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“They were _spiders_ ,” Arthur replied, _“very big_ spiders actually. You should be more wary about those kinds of things; we’re hunting a dangerous magician after all. For all you know this magician could have sent those spiders to attack us.”

“You were spooked, admit it, _Sire_ ,” Merlin said, grinning.

“I was _not,_ ” Arthur grumbled, as he turned to carry on walking through the forest. Merlin followed, trying to resist the temptation to poke Arthur further. However, teasing the heir to the throne about his bravery was a reckless task at the best of times.

These, however, were not the best of times.

They were searching for a supposed rogue magician, after reports of strange happenings occurring on the fringe of the forest. Arthur, being Arthur, immediately volunteered to search out the villainous magician, and Merlin being his manservant was brought as well.

They had been searching for nigh on two days, crashing through the forest after a trail that Arthur had picked up. To the annoyance of Merlin, the trail had led them through muddy rivers and more often than not, brambles.

“MERLIN!” Arthur’s annoyed shout came from ahead. Merlin sighed. Sometimes trying to keep up with Arthur was like trying to keep track of a small child in a market place. An especially _excitable_ child in a marketplace.

Merlin squelched through the muddy track, mutters spells under his breath to remove his footprints. Arthur, for all of his blustering determination, had managed to leave no trail at all through the muddy undergrowth.

The path ended abruptly, leading to a small rock face which had been nestled deep into the trees. Moss had grown over the rock in thick, dark green layers which covered up the grey rock face. The rest of the rocky outcrop was lost amongst the heavy canopy of the trees, which pulled in tight around the edges of the rock to camouflage it further.

Arthur was standing next to a small break in the moss, leaning on the nearest tree for support. He managed to conjure a look of complete boredom, coupled with a smug attitude that could only come from his upbringing.

“What have you found?” Merlin asked.

Arthur gestured to the rocky outcrop with his sword, as if it was obvious.

Merlin tried to hold back a sigh. It failed.

“It’s the cave,” Arthur said, waving his sword at the dark opening in the moss, “the trail leads in here.”

“It’s _a_ cave,” Merlin said, walking over towards Arthur and peering at the dark gap in the rock. The entrance was narrow, barely wide enough to allow Merlin to walk down. Arthur, with all of his heavy armour, would have to shuffle sideways through it.

“It’s _the_ cave,” Arthur said, “the man at the tavern in Maytown said that there had been strange noises coming from a cave which was barely visible, that was _nowhere_ near any mountains. Can you see any mountains near here?”

Arthur gestured towards the trees. This time, Merlin did not hold back the sigh of exasperation.

 _I’m not a bloody idiot you know,_ Merlin thought at Arthur. Sadly, however, Arthur had no mind reading skills, and so the message was lost on the other man.

“Only one way to find out,” Arthur said, sheathing his sword, “we go have a look. Any idea how we’re going to get some light?”

Merlin had some good ideas actually; but the first three ideas were spells, and however spectacular they were they were simply not an option.

 _Torch it is,_ Merlin thought. He glanced around the undergrowth until he found a stick of appropriate size and lit it. Merlin offered the proffered torch to Arthur.

“You first,” Merlin said, “you’re the one with the sword.”

“I am not defending your honour Merlin,” Arthur said, “if there is any trouble, just make sure you know your way out.”

“And what about you?” Merlin asked.

“I’ve been trained to kill since birth,” Arthur said, as if that answered Merlin’s question perfectly, “now let’s get going.”

x-x-x

Progress was slow, the little light given off by the torch not fully illuminating the rocky path Arthur and Merlin were walking upon. The initial thin entrance had opened up into a man-made tunnel, which was wide enough to allow Arthur to walk down it in his armour. The roof had lifted up into the blackness above, where the torchlight could not piece.

Arthur knew that Merlin was still following him, as he continued to provide a very tedious and mildly irritating commentary on how ridiculous Arthur’s hair looked from the back. Arthur couldn’t help but counter with the fact that he was the _Prince of Camelot,_ and therefore one of the most eligible bachelors in the region. The back of his head, therefore, was just as eligible and certainly not ridiculous.

Their banter quickly fell into a natural rhythm. Despite Merlin’s position of manservant, Arthur would easily call Merlin his friend, although not out loud.

A noise from high above caused Arthur to stop in his tracks. The torchlight flickered eerily on the walls around him, casting sharp and jagged shadows from the rock face down the thin corridor. Their path so far had been met with silence, and it was only now that the noise had suggested just _how_ high the roof rose up above them.

“Merlin,” Arthur whispered, “I think we’re getting close.”

There was no reply.

Arthur felt the panic grip him immediately. Merlin might be annoying, but he was a manservant whose fighting ability was akin to that of a small hedgehog. A small, _defenceless_ hedgehog.

“Merlin!” Arthur hissed, “stop mucking about and answer me!”

Silence.

Arthur turned, eyes frantically looking for Merlin. However, there was no sight of the small slight manservant, only the dark gloom of the path that Arthur had come along.

He hadn’t heard Merlin disappear. After all, Arthur had just been bantering with him mere moments before.

“Merlin?” Arthur asked the darkness, “Are you listening?”

When there was still no reply, Arthur truly began to panic. Gripping the torch, he made his way back up the rocky path, the way that he and Merlin had come into the cave. All the while, his eyes scanned the rocks, looking for a small, scrawny form which could be his manservant.

“Merlin?” Arthur whispered, his other hand reaching for his sword. Something else was in the cave, Arthur knew it. Merlin wasn’t the type to just wander off on his own.

A sudden gust of wind brushed past Arthur, blowing out the torch.

 _Wait, we’re in a cave,_ Arthur thought, keeping still as the darkness closed in, _there can’t be wind in a cave_.

Arthur’s eyes strained against the blackness, craving light that wasn’t there. However, they couldn’t adjust to the deep blackness of the cave around him.

Yet whilst his eyes could not see, his ears could still hear that noise, the scraping noise that had caused him to stop moments before, getting louder and louder. It was the sound of claws on rock, ripping through the stone as easily as a knife would move through butter.

A guttural roar came from somewhere above him. The sound echoed through the cave, increasing its volume. Arthur drew his sword, hoping that whatever the creature was, he could fight it.

Something large crashed into the side of Arthur’s head, knocking him out cold.

xxXxx

“Potter, Black, Lupin; I know you’re hiding behind there,” Lily Evans sighed to one of the statues. It was far too late to be rushing around after stubborn idiots who refused to actually _follow_ the rules. A small bit of rule breaking wasn’t the end of the world, in a school it was almost expected, but it was as if the Marauders, as they called themselves, _wanted_ her to go back to Madam Pomfrey and ask for another weeks load of headache potions.

“Thank _you_ , Padfoot,” the irritated voice of James Potter muttered from behind the statue, as three figures jumped down from the stone plinth they had been standing upon, ducking beneath the statue’s outstretched arms. Lily put on her best severe face, staring the other three boys down with a stare that had been rumoured to even set some of the Professor’s back a few steps.

“What gave us away?” James Potter asked, brushing a hand through his thick black hair as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. There was a distinct air of cheekiness that James Potter seemed to exude, and was one of the reasons that Lily had continued to turn his advancements down because he was so bloody infuriating.

“The foot and a half of black cloak sticking out from the side of the statue for one,” Lily replied, “and your inability to shut up.”

“That was Sirius,” James said slapping Sirius on the back. Sirius yelped, punching James in the arm as revenge.

“I blame Remus,” Sirius said, grinning. If James Potter was the cheeky one, then Sirius would the one with the charm. The smile that he gave Lily was just that, and Sirius knew exactly how to try and worm his way out of a situation with a mere smile.

Lily, however, was immune to all of his tricks. She had spent enough time as a prefect catching them at their risqué adventures as they had tried to sneak out of the Gryffindor Common Room after lights out.

Remus shrugged, giving Lily a truly apologetic smile. Remus was the best out of the group, if not mislead by his friends on occasion. He had a keen mind, and an even sharper wit, and Lily would always look forward to Potions lessons where she and Remus would have hour long debates about the use of various ingredients.

“Whatever,” Lily replied, turning to James, “give me a good reason why you are up so late and I’ll let you go.”

“Straight in with Head-girl mode there,” Sirius replied, “can’t you cut us some slack?”

“Black, if I cut you _any_ slack, Hogwarts would have turned into a fairground by now,” Lily replied, “my duty was supposed to finish _half an hour_ ago. However I had to go out of my way to round up you three.”

“How did you know we weren’t safely tucked up in bed?” James asked, raising his eyebrow. It was enough to make Lily’s blood boil. James and Sirius knew they had a near god-like following from some of the love sick girls in the lower years, and it did nothing to help the size of either of their egos.

“Because the Common Room was in one piece,” Lily retorted, folding her arms in irritation.

“Now we’re getting serious,” James said, nodding to Lily’s folded arms. He copied her posture, trying to pull a serious face on his own. However, Lily thought that it looked more like he had just eaten a raw piece of chilli.

Sirius clearly thought the same, because he burst out into laughter.

“What where you doing?” Lily asked, fighting to keep her voice flat and authoritative and not let any frustration seep into it. They were like young children, best she treat them like some.

“Visiting a friend in need,” James supplied.

 “Peter, you know, he’s in the hospital wing at the moment,” Remus added, offering an apologetic smile to Lily, “food poisoning.”

 _Really,_ Lily thought, totally disbelieving Remus’ excuse. However, the Marauder’s were a tight group, she would never work out what the true reason was that had led to Peter being laid up in the Hospital wing.

“Fine,” Lily said, setting her lips together, “I’ll let you off this time, as long as you come back to the dorms _now_.”

“I think we can agree to those terms,” Sirius said, “can’t we lads?” He wrapped his arms around James and Remus, taking them into a friendly headlock and rubbing his knuckles into the tops of their heads. Remus begun to protest, whilst James tried to snake his own hand around to knuckle the top of Sirus’ head as well.

“Hurry up,” Lily said, turning on her heel and snapping the toe of her shoe to the floor. The sound was impressive, the clear _snap_ of her sole against the cold castle floor cut out their ridiculous behaviour.

 _I will have to get another pair of these shoes,_ Lily thought to herself.

“Let go Padfoot,” James wheezed, as he struggled for breath from laughing.

“Sorry Prongs,” Sirius replied, letting go of Remus and James. James dramatically clutched his throat as if he hadn’t breathed in oxygen for years.

Lily continued to stare at them with what she hoped was the expression of a petulant mother. She had learnt that gaze from Professor McGonagall.

“Come _on,_ ” Lily said, not looking back towards the three friends as she strode down the corridor.

“If you let me take you to dinner, would that mean you don’t deduct points from us?” James asked.

Lily pinched the bridge of her nose in desperation.

“I thought we were leaving the flirting for later James,” Sirius commented, “don’t try to ask out the already annoyed Head-Girl.”

“Oh alright then,” James replied, giving Lily what seemed to be a genuinely apologetic smile, “I shall resume my efforts tomorrow.”

“May Merlin give me strength,” Lily muttered under her breath, as she was just about to turn to walk back to the dorms.

Suddenly, the bricks on the wall began to move of their own accord. They shuffled and swivelled, much like the way the bricks moved on one of the many entrances to Diagon Alley. In the middle of the opening, a wooden door began to appear from the darkness.

Then the door stopped growing, grinding loudly to a halt. A few heartbeats past, as Lily and the three boys stared at the door in confusion, whilst a small handle emerged from the door, spiralling out of the woodwork like a plant growing from the soil.

Then it stopped, forming an intricate handle that was made from lots of entwined pieces of metal.

Lily peered closer at the handle. It seemed to be made up of thousands of tiny snakes, entwined within one another. This was _nothing_ like a normal Hogwarts door, anyway being Head Girl she knew quite a few of the cut throughs and secret passage ways where the doors would only appear if you stepped in a particular pattern or left a piece of fruit with the statue standing outside of it.

“That’s odd,” Remus commented.

“Always the one for the remarkable statements,” Sirius said, “but it’s not like any of us haven’t seen a door that’s appeared by itself have we?”

 _Not like this,_ Lily thought, stepping away from the door and shaking her head. It didn’t matter, they should all be in bed. She would inform Professor McGonagall of the door in the morning.

“I’ve never seen it on the map before.” Remus whispered.

James and Sirius gaped at Remus. Lily raised her eyebrow.

“What map?” she asked. This smelled like trouble. Or more like the _method_ that the four Maraunders used to get away with causing so much trouble.

“Could the map be wrong?” James said, totally ignoring Lily’s comment.

“No,” Remus shook his head, “the map never lies.”

“Can someone tell me _what_ map this is?” Lily asked.

“So it’s a door that doesn’t exist,” Sirius said, walking in front of Lily and peering at the door curiously.

Then he knocked on it.

“Just seeing if anyone was home,” Sirius said with a smile, stepping out of Lily’s way, “y’know all good horror films have a door that mysteriously appears-”

 _Squeak_.

The door swung open.

“And then opens creepily?” Lily asked, “would one of you three like to explain what is going on?”

“How should we know?” Sirius said, “its a creepy door that isn’t on the map.”

“What is this map?” Lily asked.

“A map, Lily dear,” James said in the most patronising tone possible, “is a device commonly used to find a route from place A to place B-”

“I said _this map,”_ Lily replied flatly, “not _a_ map. What is this map that you three keep referring to?”

“Aren’t you more interested in the secret door?” Sirius said.

“Spooky door,” James corrected.

“No,” Lily said, “I want to know. You’re hiding something from me-”

“Only James’ love poems to you,” Sirius interrupted.

“and I want to know what it is.” Lily said flatly, placing her hands on her hips. They _were_ hiding something, and she was damn well going to find out what it was.

It was a challenge, of sorts.

“The map is a thing that can’t be explained by words,” James said.

Lily sighed.

“If we go back to the dorms,” Remus said, “we can show you.”

“Moony-” Sirius protested, before being silenced by Remus’ glare.

 _I am so thankful at least_ one _of them seems to have a brain on them,_ Lily thought.

“So you agree to come back to the dorms?” Lily said.

“Well…” Sirius started.

“That was before the mysterious door appeared,” James continued.

“Not like we can’t carry out an investigation. It would be for Peter’s benefit.” Sirius suggested.

“He’s in the hospital wing,” Lily said, “he’s not going to be interested in _any_ investigation.”

“He might be worried,” James continued.

“Scared sick,” Sirius said.

Lily sighed again. She seemed to do it a lot around James and Sirius. It was probably due to the fact that both of them were so insufferable.

 “Plus,” James added, “We never said we would go _straight_ to the dorms. Think of this as like going to the dorms _via_ a spooky door leading to the unknown.”

“You could always come with us,” Remus offered with a smile.

“It could be a date for you and James,” Sirius helpfully supplied with a smile. James however, glared at his friend.

“Which gives me more reason _not_ to join you,” Lily said, “and if three don’t mind I’m off to speak to Professor McGonagall.”

“Not McGonagall,” James said.

“She already wants out heads,” Sirius said.

“All the more reason to listen to Lily,” Remus said.

“We won’t set of a prank for a week,” Sirius suggested.

“What?” Lily and James said in unison, looking at Sirius with a joint look of shock on their faces.

“If you don’t go see McGonagall,” Sirius said, “one week of no pranks.”

“And what about the creepy door?” Lily asked, “we can’t just _leave it.”_

“Which is why we should investigate it,” Sirius said. James saw where his friend’s logic was leading and nodded enthusiastically.

Lily paused.

“Two,” she said, “and I’ll come with you.”

 _Am I really considering this?_ Lily thought to herself.

Sirius smiled at the idea before saying to Lily;

“One and a half.”

“Two,” Lily replied.

 _Maybe it’s because part of me_ wants _to know where that door came from. And what this bloody map is._

“One and three quarters,” Remus said.

Lily made a dramatic show of thinking deeply, just to annoy the other three boys. It was almost fun to watch them squirm, James kept running his hand through his hair in an attempt to quell his anxiety.

“Deal,” she said, bringing out her wand, “shall we get going then?”

“After your fair lady,” Sirius said to James, “go after your Knight in Shining Armor.”

“I thought we had dropped that joke now,” James replied, although he could barely keep the excitement of investigating the unknown out of his voice.

“Lumos,” Lily whispered, holding her wand out in front of her into the darkness. The light of the spell barely pierced the gloom in front of her. She stepped forward slowly, feet sliding along the dark, stonelike material that made up the floor.

 _It is stone,_ Lily thought to herself. It wasn’t like the manmade stone of the Hogwart’s corridors, more like the natural stone of a cave.

“This is definitely creepy,” Sirius commented.

 _Squeal_.

Lily jumped at the noise, swivelling around to see the door they had just walked through slam firmly _shut_ behind them.

“Make that four weeks of no pranks,” Lily muttered.

“Where are we?” Remus asked.

“And why is it a cave?” James asked. He flicked his wand, muttering the charm that sent the light of the lumos spell flying high up into the air above them. It illuminated high cavern walls, which stretched up above to form a dome. It was large enough, on Lily’s estimate, to hold at least one quidditch pitch inside of it.

 _This is not good,_ Lily thought, tightening the grip on her wand.

“You tell me Prongs,” Sirius said, sounding slightly in awe of their surroundings. Lily didn’t blame him, it _was_ impressive after all.

Lily shook her head. There were more important things to think about now, and they did not involve admiring the scenery.

“We need to find an exit,” she said.

“We have one,” Sirius said, pointing at where the door had been-

There was just a wall of rock from where they had come.

“Oh dear,” Remus said.

“I was rather thinking along the lines of oh fu-” Sirius begun.

Lily felt something cold move against her cheek, like the air on a cold winter’s day that had just suddenly _rushed_ past her. Yet as soon as it had appeared, it went again.

“Did you feel that?” Lily asked, touching her cheek gently. This place was _creepy,_ and her gut told her that they were far, far out of their depth.

“Did I feel what?” James asked.

“I felt it too,” Sirius said.

 _Woosh_.

The lights on their wands went out.

 _Stay calm, Stay calm,_ Lily told herself. It was futile, however. She could feel the panic begin to rise in her chest.

“What was that?” James asked in the darkness.

“How can that even happen?” Sirius asked, as he muttered _Lumos_ under his breath; vainly trying to get some light to appear from the end of his wand.

“ _Lumos_ ,” Lily said with utmost forcefulness. A glowing white light appeared from the end of her wand, illuminating her face as she turned to face the other three boys.

“Lily,” Remus whispered, terrified, “don’t move.”

“Why?” Lily said, following the gaze of the other three behind her. About 6 feet behind her, a tail lay across the floor, with thick scales that rippled in the light.

“Where did that come from?” Sirius whispered. The scales shot out of their small pool of light, and into the darkness. However, even though they couldn’t see, they could hear the scrabble of thick claws on rock.

 _We are so out of our depth,_ Lily thought.

The light on her wand went out again. She yelped in surprise, almost crashing into James in fright.

“We need to get out of here,” James whispered, “everyone back towards the door.”

“There is no door,” Lily reminded him.

“Maybe we can conjure it back,” James said.

The sound of claws scraping against the rock face muffled their steps as they shuffled back towards the rock where the door had been.

“How do you think we make it appear?” Sirius asked.

“I have no idea,” Remus whispered.

The two of them descended into a bickering conversation, whilst Lily stood facing outwards into the dome. She still had her wand held out in front of her, despite the fact that something was negating their magic.

“James,” she whispered, “use your spell.”

“What?” he said, surprised.

 _Dammit,_ she thought, _should have called him Potter._

“The spell,” Lily hissed, “we need to know what’s out there. It might show us another way out.”

“It might show that thing where we are-”

“Just do it. We don’t have a choice,” Lily said.

Much to Lily’s surprise, James didn’t make a retort, instead actually following her instructions. Muttering under his breath, he made a throwing gesture out into the dome.

This _lumos_ was far dimmer than the one James had cast previously. Lily guessed that it probably had something to do with the scaley _thing_ that was out there. Somehow, it was managing to negate their spells.

However, what the _lumos_ spell did show Lily almost made her scream in terror.

James cautiously moved the light, following the tail as it merged in a body. The light level increased as Sirius, Remus and Lily also lit the end of their wands, their faces draining in colour as the light revealed the monster before them.

It was one monster, Lily could only see one body, but staring in their direction were seven identical heads, with fourteen green eyes and even more teeth shared between them.

One of the heads snaked its way closer, whilst another two begun to snap at the light that James had created, its forked tongue darting in and out of its mouth.

“Run!” Lily said, as she began to sprint forward. There _had_ to be another way out, after all how could a creature so huge just appear out of nowhere?

The other three boys followed in pursuit. However, it seemed fruitless as the huge head just followed them like a cat would follow a mouse that it was toying with. The other 6 heads swivelled, now caught by the movement.

“Where are we going?” Sirius said.

“I don’t-” Lily began.

However, before she could finish, a huge scaly tail swiped round in front of her path, knocking her and the other three Marauders out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Why are you totally re-writing your trilogy'
> 
> The Stuff of Legend/Myth/Nightmares trilogy was the first time that I actively wrote more than 100,000 on any single universe. When it was up on ff.net, I received so many lovely reviews and kind words from people who enjoyed the story, and it was the trilogy that told me _yes this writing business, I can do the thing_.
> 
> Stuff of Legend was first posted in 2010, almost 6 years ago now. Myth was first posted somewhere in 2011, and Nightmares was posted in 2011 too. I never finished the trilogy because life got in the way, as life does, with a sequence of events that ended me up with 0% confidence in anything I had written. 
> 
> So I deleted all my stories off ff.net, and resolved never to write again.
> 
> After a number of months, and a big bang fic later, I did get sucked back into fandom again, and so my writing started up. I've always had the Legend/Myth/Nightmares stories sitting on my harddrive, under a folder named 'OLD' along with all my pre 2012 fic. I've gone back to them on occasion, but they seemed so old that it felt wrong to just re-post them without updating them. My writing, and my outlook on life, has grown so much over the past few years that it wouldn't be true to the writer I am now to just re-post them. So instead I wanted to re-master them with my writing ability from now, but keep the story true to itself, just like 2010 me wanted to write some crazy HP/Merlin crossover because _why not_
> 
> So this is me, apologising to those readers who might remember me from ff.net and who wondered where the hell these stories ever went. I hope you enjoy my re-writes, they're kind of like the story you would have remembered, albeit remastered :)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always welcome <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments and kudos <3 I am blown away by your kind words!

When Merlin woke, his head hurt.

 _Where am I?_ he thought, rubbing the back of his head. He could remember following Arthur down the cave, but after that-

Nothing.

Merlin shook his head, trying to regain his senses. He didn’t remember being followed by someone, so they had to be _good._ Good enough that Merlin wouldn’t feel them, and good enough that they had managed to separate him and Arthur.

 _Arthur,_ Merlin thought, scrabbling to his knees. He needed to find the Prince, after all they were searching for a rogue sorcerer, and that meant Arthur had _no idea_ what he was getting himself in for.

However, the blackness of his surroundings offered up no clues. Merlin was sure it was the same kind of rock under his hands, at least that meant he hadn’t been transported to some other dimension entirely.

_Light, that would be useful._

“Glæma,” Merlin whispered, holding his hand out in front of him. A small orb of light flickered into life in front of Merlin’s face, sending a warm yellow light out into the darkness. The tendrils pieced the blackness, flickering dark shadows across the wall that was now illuminated in front of him. Merlin concentrated for a second, sending some more magic into the orb with his mind, making it grown larger and brighter.

 _Well this isn’t good_ , Merlin thought.

He was in a small cell, for want of a better word. The rock around him looked like it had been carved out with a human hand many years before, the pickaxe grooves were still discernible to Merlin’s eye. It was more of a larger cubby hole than an actual _cell._ Across the one entrance lay a door made out of thick iron bars, which looked far larger than even the strongest Merlin had seen during his infrequent visits to the castle dungeons.

In the light, Merlin could also now see the manacle around his ankle. It was firmly clamped around his ankle, with the other end being attached to the rock wall with a thick iron chain and a strong looking fixing.

 _I am in trouble,_ Merlin thought.

It was the manacle on his leg that told him that. Despite being made out of heavy metal, it didn’t feel heavy on his leg. Neither was it cold to the touch.

That meant that magic was involved.

Merlin sighed, sitting back down to assess the situation. The orb above him shrank slightly, becoming just a dim glow. Breaking out of his cell wouldn’t be a problem, but it would lose him the element of surprise. If there was magic at work, then it was always advisable to have the element of surprise.

 _And then there is Arthur,_ Merlin thought. He had no idea where Arthur was, or what had happened to him.  That meant that his captors were either trying to question Arthur now, or thought that the Prince was not a serious threat. If Merlin rampaged through the caverns looking for Arthur, there was no way in telling what Arthur’s captors would do. If they were unseasoned bandits, they would just panic, and possibly kill him. If they were seasoned, then they would use Arthur as bait, or worse, as a hostage.

 _Where are you Arthur?_ Merlin thought into the gloom. 

It was then that he noticed something gleaming just outside the cell, barely catching the rays of light that was coming from his orb.

Merlin crept closer to the edge of the iron bars, trying to ignore the unnatural way the manacle on his leg glided over the rocky floor without causing any noise. He sent the small orb out into the hallway, hovering over whatever it was that had been placed opposite his cell.

 _Oh no,_ Merlin thought, as the object was illuminated.

It was Arthur’s sword.

Merlin almost cried out in shock. Arthur _never_ left his sword; it was always hanging at his side. Even when he went to sleep, the prattish Prince took it with him for protection.

Summoning the orb back into his hand, Merlin lent against the iron bars. The sword had clearly been placed there to taunt him.

 _That means they know who Arthur is,_ Merlin thought. It took a level of egotism to taunt your prisoners, and it took a level of knowledge further to place a specific item outside one of your prisoner’s cells that you _know_ would taunt them.

 _Arthur_ , Merlin thought at the sword; _what happened?_

However, the sword gave no reply, just lying still, the light bouncing off its smooth surface. Merlin itched to call the sword towards him, but as it was he was already in danger of showing his true nature.

“ácýðan,” Merlin whispered.

The sword begun to glow faintly blue, as a hundred thousand different etching danced across the blade. The blue then merged into a deeper purple, flowing through the colours like sea waves flowed into one another as they crashed upon the shore.

It was the final confirmation that this _was_ Arthur’s sword. Unbeknownst to the Prince, Merlin had managed to enchant the sword with various protective and offensive magics that were hidden deep within the blade. As Arthur did not know of the magic protections, Merlin had thought to hide them within layers of illusion and hidden spellcasting that allowed the magic to only activate in the most dire and deadly of circumstances. Even then, Arthur might just see it as someone dying from a blow that had been slightly misplaced to be a kill strike, or having other people miss his body by inches as their blades had been pushed away from Arthur’s body by an invisible hand.

Merlin waved his hand, and dismissed both the revealing spell and the glowing orb.  The cell was plunged into pitch darkness once more, enfolding Merlin in a comforting blanket that allowed his thoughts to run free.

 _I need a way to save Arthur,_ Merlin thought, _I need to know what has gone on here._

In the darkness of his cell, Merlin planned his method of attack.

He also planned his captor’s demise.

x-x-x

When Sirius woke up, the first thing he saw was a brown, rocky wall. It was covered with moss and grime, so much so that Sirius wasn’t even sure that it was _brown_ rock in the first place.

 _This could be fun,_ he thought. His head felt heavy and groggy, but not the kind of groggy that came with being severely hungover. There was a throbbing on the back of his head, nothing that told him that he had been severely injured but enough to tell him that he had been knocked out.

It was then he remembered the large scaley tail, and the seven heads that had been attached to the monster which had it.

 _This is_ not _a good start_ ; Sirius thought, as he picked up his hand to rub what he thought would be an impressive lump on the back of his head. However, his hand stopped half way, as he noticed the massive iron manacle clamped around it.

Sirius groaned again.

“Why do I feel like I’ve drunk twenty firewhiskies and then been knocked out by a bludger?” James asked to Sirius’ right, as he pushed himself off the rocky floor to sit upright. He too was strapped to the wall with a manacle like Sirius. Next to him lay Remus, and at the end of their little party, was Lily.

“We got hit by Snivillus’ great aunt,” Sirius explained, “you could see the likeness.”

“We did?” James said, confused.

“You know, the seven headed monster,” Sirius explained, raising his eyebrows in expectation. It took a few more seconds for James to realise _what_ monster Sirius was talking about, and then a further few seconds to connect said monster to the description of _Snivillus’ great aunt_.

“Oh,” James whispered as he made the connection.

“Where are we?” Remus asked.

“Please tell me this is a dream,” Lily moaned, as she rattled the manacle around her wrist for emphasis.

“No this is reality,” James said, “and I’m guessing we’re in another part of the cave we saw our friend the seven headed monster-”

“It’s a Hydra,” Lily explained.

James had enough sense in him to look mildly irritated at Lily’s interruption.

 _Good,_ Sirius thought. He needed his friend who was brilliant and daring, not the lovesick heartthrob who would go to the ends of the earth for Lily’s love. Not that there was anything _wrong_ with being a lovesick heartthrob, but ‘love’ wasn’t conducive to dealing with seven headed monsters in Sirius’ opinion.

 “Very rare creatures,” Lily continued, “I think they’re related to dragons.”

“So we were knocked out by a _Hydra_ ,” James continued, staring pointedly at Lily to make the point that he was using the proper terminology, “and then we were placed in a cell and manacled to the wall by a seven headed creature without opposable thumbs.”

“Your powers of observation Prongs are just unbelievable,” Remus muttered, “the Hydra didn’t tie us up.”

“My point exactly, Moony,” James replied.

“Well whoever tied us up,” Sirius sighed, “getting out of here is going to be fun. After all, we have no wands.”

“Merlin’s beard Black,” Lily said, exasperated, “do you and Potter _only_ ever state the obvious?”

“Whose beard?”

Sirius almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of the new voice. All four of their heads whipped around in unison to stare at the man who was similarly tied up at the far end of their long, thin cell. He stared at them with a strange intensity, Sirius thought, and from the way his clothing was ruffled, he must have been put down here by the same people who had tied them up.

“Whose beard?” the man asked again, continuing to stare.

 _It’s as if he’s entitled to an answer,_ Sirius thought. He had seen much the same kind of haughtiness in the member of the Black clan, especially those who reprimanded him.

“Um,” Sirius replied, glancing towards James, Remus and Lily for any kind of clarification as to _who_ this man was, “Merlin’s beard.”

“ _Who_?” the man said, again.

“Merlin,” James clarified, failing to keep the patronising tone from his voice, “you know, Merlin the famous wizard. Old and tall; with a beard.”

The man stared at James in shock.

“ _The_ Merlin,” Sirius continued, trying to scrabble for some simple information that might help the man understand whose beard they were swearing by, “you know, _The_ Merlin, and _The_ Arthur.”

“Knights of the round table,” James continued, “The Legends of Camelot.”

The man’s jaw fell open.

“Why do I think you just said something you shouldn’t have?” Remus questioned quietly.

“Magic is outlawed in Camelot,” the man said, his voice flat and his face stony cold, “so you must be mistaken.”

“Outlawed?” Sirius said, “How can it be outlawed? The Legend of King Arthur has _the most_ famous magician of all time in a starring role, which is set in a _magical_ Kingdom!”

“You’re mistaken,” the man replied, this time with less conviction and more worry in his voice, “magic is outlawed. There could be no... magical legend.”

“Prove it,” James said.

Sirius could almost _feel_ Lily’s pointed stare that was no doubt being directed in James’ direction.

 _Yes, let’s antagonise the strange man in our cell, Prongs,_ he thought, _good plan._

“My name is Arthur,” the man said, with a sarcastic smile.

“Great,” James said, “I’m James, this is Sirius, Lily and Remus.” He pointed to Sirius, Lily and Remus in turn, his manacle rattling as he did so.

“Prongs, I think you’re missing the point,” Remus whispered at him.

“I am?” James asked.

“His name is Arthur,” Sirius said, gesturing to Arthur who was still staring at them with a look of boredom on his face.

“And?” James asked.

“We asked him to prove that there was no magical legend of Camelot,” Sirius continued.

“You’re telling me he’s _the_ King Arthur?!” James said incredulously.

“I’m Crown Prince Arthur actually,” Arthur said seriously, as Sirius’ jaw dropped.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sirius muttered in shock. He had always loved the heroic tales of Prince Arthur as a kid, it was like he had met his hero.

“That door must have taken us back in time,” James pondered, “hey Padfoot, do you think we could somehow make a time-travelling door to put in front of the Slytherin’s common room?”

The talk of possible pranks, especially against the Slytherins, shook Sirius out of his shock at finding out he was talking to _the_ Crown Prince Arthur.

“We could Prongs,” Sirius replied.

“I thought you promised _no_ pranks,” Lily said, , “that was part of the deal to get me to come and get locked up in this cell with you idiots.”

“It’s not a prank Lily-flower,” Sirius defended, “it’s a project.”

“For _what_?” Lily asked pointedly.

“Charms,” James continued.

“I’m in your Charms class,” Lily stated flatly.

“It’s extra practise,” Sirius said quickly.

“Why do I even bother with you two,” Lily sighed.

“Because you’re secretly in love with old James here?” Sirius said, nudging James with his elbow.

“Remus, how do you keep them under control?” Lily asked.

“I don’t,” Remus replied with a grin, “it’s impossible.”

 _Exactly,_ Sirius thought. Remus was the most level headed of the group, but even he couldn’t stop Sirius and James when they had thought of a plan. Like when they had decided to become animagi.

“Excuse me?” Arthur said.

“Yes?” James replied.

“How did you get here?” Arthur asked, “because don’t you think for _one_ minute I’m actually going to _believe_ you travelled back in time.”

“Oh dear,” Sirius mumbled, “This is going to be hard to explain.”

“It is?” Arthur questioned, barking a laugh, “How so exactly?”

“You know you said about how magic was outlawed?” Sirius said slowly.

“Yes?” Arthur replied.

“Let’s just say, _hypothetically_ , that a wizard was stuck in a cell, and _hypothetically_ used magic to escape, what would the punishment be?” Sirius asked tentatively.

 “Death,” Arthur said flatly, “because you would be ‘outside the law’. Hence the name _outlawed.”_

“Oh, good,” James commented.

“This is _not_ going to be easy to explain,” Remus said.

“We could just bluff,” Sirius suggested, shrugging his shoulders, “y’know just blag our way to safety.”

“And how well is your general knowledge about Camelot and its surrounding areas, Black?” Lily asked, “Considering he is _Crown Prince_ , would that not suggest he would know the villages in the kingdom?”

“How about an outlying village called Hogsmeade?” James suggested.

“Wonderful, Potter, wonderful,” Lily replied, “how does that explain us being in long black robes with a _school emblem_ on the front of them?”

“I was just going to ask that actually,” Arthur interrupted their conversation, “you answer will be _quite_ interesting.”

“The truth would blow your mind,” Sirius said.

“Try me,” Arthur said, with the kind of tone in his voice that sounded like he wanted to be challenged.

 _Alright then,_ Sirius thought, _game on._

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Lily commented, “never try and get into an ego match with Black. You _will_ lose.”

“My thoughts exactly, Lily,” Sirius said with a grin, as he continued to stare at Arthur. This man might be the King Arthur of Legend, and Sirius _might_ regard the man as a childhood hero, but that didn’t mean Sirius was not going lose up an opportunity to be dramatic.

“I’m waiting,” Arthur said expectantly.  Sirius almost expected the Prince to start tapping his foot impatiently.

“So,” Sirius began, “we’re from the future.”

“Right,” Arthur said, his tone suggesting he didn’t believe a word.

“We found our way through a magical door, which took us through time, where we met a seven-headed monster with bad breath, got knocked out and woke up here in the same cell as your good self.” Sirius said, all in one breath.

“Couldn’t you have defended yourself?” Arthur remarked, “if you are from the future as you say, you could use whatever _device_ you used to travel in time as your defence.”

From the tone, Sirius doubted that Arthur believed anything Sirius had just told him.

“We did,” Sirius said, trying to put on his best dramatic voice, “but our weapons have been taken from us.”

“Which were?” Arthur asked.

Sirius stayed silent.

 _It is_ death _after all,_ Sirius thought, _we need some way of being able to trick him into thinking-_

“Wands,” Lily said, interrupting Sirius’ thoughts, “our weapons were wands.”

“Thank you Lily-flower for sentencing us all to death,” Sirius said.

“It’s not as if he wouldn’t have found out anyway, Black” Lily remarked back, “leaving it unsaid would have caused further questions.”

“Wands,” Arthur repeated. Sirius could almost see the blood draining visibly from the Prince’s face as he realised what that meant , “that means, you’re...you’re-”

“Wizards, yes,” James said, “woopie do for us. Nothing important. Please don’t kill us.”

The look on Arthur’s face suggested that he did not agree with James’ suggestion.

“Now he’s going to kill us,” Sirius mumbled, “great, thank you, _Lily_.”

Sirius could feel Lily’s glare on his forehead. It was like he was being scrutinised by McGonagall, only worse because McGonagall could only take away _points._ Lily, however, was outside of Hogwarts and her temper knew no boundaries and there was no one to hear him scream out here.

“You practise magic?” Arthur said his face screwing up as he spat out the word _magic_ , like it left a bad taste on his tongue.

“Merlin’s beard, that’s what the word wizard generally _implies_ ,” James said.

“I thought we had already covered this _Merlin does not have a beard_.” Arthur growled.

“And how would you know that?” Sirius asked.

“Because unless he’s grown one in the past few hours,” Arthur said, his voice rising, “He does _not_ have a beard.”

 _What?!_ Sirius thought. This _had_ to be a dream.

“Wait, he’s here?” James stuttered in shock.

“Who?” Arthur asked.

“ _Merlin_ ,” Sirius said, as if the name itself held power.

“I don’t know,” Arthur said, “one minute he was behind me, next he wasn’t.”

“He couldn’t apparate could he?” Remus questioned out loud.

“Wouldn’t put it past him,” Sirius said, “he’s _Merlin._ He probably could apparate a _town._ ”

“What the hell does apparate- no never mind,” Arthur said shaking his head, “but he does _not have a beard_.”

“Ok, so Merlin doesn’t have a beard.” Sirius sighed.

“And he isn’t a magician,” Arthur said.

“Yes he is,” James retorted, “one of the greatest wizards of all time.”

“I _know_ he isn’t a magician,” Arthur said, “Do you not think he would have said?”

“Not when it’s outlawed,” Sirius replied, “it’s not as if he’s going to saunter up to the Crown Prince of Camelot and say ‘hey by the way, I can do magic. Want me to walk to the headsman block now or later?’”

“Tact, Black,” Lily warned. Sirius, however, chose to ignore her.

“He wouldn’t do that,” Arthur replied quickly, “he trusts me.”

“And he probably wouldn’t say because he doesn’t want to lose that trust,” Remus said looking at Sirius with a piercing gaze as if to tell him to _not say any more_.

Sirius’ mouth worked but no noise came out. Moony did have a point.

“Why should I trust your word anyway?” Arthur said, “you’re just as bad as the rest. You practise _magic._ ”

“And?” James asked.

“Magic is innately evil,” Arthur said shortly, “All it has done is bring evil to Camelot. The only magicians I’ve ever known have tried to kill me.”

“Apart from Merlin,” Sirius suggested.

Lily’s sigh could have been heard from the other side of the universe.

“He _isn’t_ a magician,” Arthur hissed back, his anger bubbling to the surface. There was a hot rage in his eyes, driven by denial and confusion, and his hands had curled into tight fists. Sirius was pretty sure if Arthur wasn’t manacled to the wall he and James at least would have probably been beaten to a pulp by now.

“Food for the prisoners.”

Everyone, even Arthur, looked in shock at the small doorway that was centred in the middle of their long, thin cell.  A woman stood outside the bars, holding a tray of food and a vial of something that Sirius thought looked quite sickly. Whatever, it was, it looked worse than the stuff Madam Pomfrey had tried to make Peter drink before they had left the Hospital Wing the night before.

The woman was dressed in a plain brown sack dress, with a rope tied around the middle as a belt. Her brown hair was pulled back and tied in a tight ponytail at the back of her head.

The thing that Sirius noticed, however, was the bandage around her eyes.

The woman laid the tray on the dusty floor, before gently pushing it under the bottom of the iron barred door into the cell.

“The vial is for the soul who is governed by the moon,” she said, before quickly turning away and walking back down the corridor, away from the cell. She gave no indication that her movement was prohibited by the bandage covering her eyes.

 _This is strange,_ Sirius thought.

“Our wands,” Lily said, nodding at the tray. True enough; four wands were lying on the tray, covered by a napkin.

“They’re too far away to reach,” James muttered, as he stretched as far as he could towards the tray. Sirius knew that James could do some wandless magic, the idiot was just being a lazy arse and not _trying._

 _Might as well give the Crown Prince a demonstration,_ Sirius thought.

“Accio wand,” he said, staring at his wand.

Nothing happened.

Arthur smirked.

 _Oh no you don’t,_ Sirius thought.

“ _Accio_ wand,” Sirius repeated starting so intently at the wand he felt like he was going to stare the wood into making its way across the cell towards him.

Suddenly, his wand whipped across the room, hitting Sirius square in the forehead.

“Ow,” Sirius groaned, as he picked up his wand with his free hand, whilst rubbing his head with his manacled one. With a few gestures, the manacles around his wrist fell free.

Sirius scrambled across the floor, picking up the three wands and passing them to their respective owners. Within a few minutes, they were all free.

Arthur stared at the four of them in muted shock. Sirius glanced at James and Remus, not sure how to proceed further.

Lily, however, was the one who took the initiative.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” she said, striding over to the shocked Prince and taking his manacled hand in one fell swoop, “we’re just as stuck as you are.”

With a few simple taps of her wand, the manacle fell free.

Arthur stared at his wrist, then back up at Lily. Sirius did feel a bit sorry for the Prince, he had a bit of a learning curve to climb when it came to understanding that not _all_ of those who wielded magic were evil.

“Look mate,” James said, “I know you have a vendetta against all magic and magicians, but you were not going to get free of that manacle unless you are a shapeshifter. Considering how much you dislike the normal magic, it’s unlikely you’re going to be one of them.”

“This doesn’t mean I trust any of you,” Arthur replied carefully, forcing himself to stand upright. Standing, the Prince was a match for James’ gangly height, and seemed to imbue a bearing of wisdom that was far beyond his years.

“We’re all stuck together,” Sirius shrugged, “so for now you can rely on the fact that we all have the same plan.”

“What plan, Black?” Lily asked.

Sirius grinned.

“Escaping of course,” he said, nodding to the door, “now who would like to blow up a door?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give comments/kudos/favourite. I am so glad you are enjoying the story so far!

“What is that?” Lily asked, nodding towards the vial that Remus was inspecting. James and Sirius were trying to inspect the cage door, discussing how best to take it down without taking the rest of the roof along with it.

Arthur was still sitting on the floor, looking at disgust at the four of them.

 _Suit yourself,_ Lily thought.

Remus peered at the bottle, before struggling with the cork that was tightly stoppered in the end. He took a long sniff, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

“It smells of mint,” he said, disgusted.

“It does?” Lily said, peering at the bottle and taking a good sniff of the substance. She instantly recoiled in disgust as a smell akin to rotten eggs filled her nose.

“That is not mint, Remus,” Lily said, “it smells like rotten eggs.”

“I bet your smells off,” Sirius said, sweeping past Lily to grab the flask and take a good sniff of the contents, “nope smells of mint to me.”

It was the way he said it which piqued Lily’s interest. Almost without enough carelessness that anyone else would think he _truly_ smelt mint. But Lily could see the look of panic in his eyes, the quick glance towards Remus that spoke far more volumes than his voice could.

“What is going on?” Lily said, slowly, “what did that woman mean?”

“With what?” Sirius said quickly. Too quickly.

Remus stared at the vial intently.

“By the fact that the vial is for the person whose soul is governed by the Moon?” Lily asked.

“Probably some ancient wizard nonsense,” James chimed in, as he too went to sniff the bottle, before he recoiled in disgust.

“What is it?” Lily said, “you three are hiding something from me and I want to know what it is.”

James and Sirius looked at one another, and then looked at Remus together.

 _Oh my god,_ Lily thought. There was something that they weren’t saying because they didn’t think Lily would be able to handle the truth. The truth that her gut was currently whispering to her mind that she _knew_ what they were silently discussing between their words.

Werewolf.

“Remus?” Lily asked, tentatively, “What’s going on?”

Remus continued to look at the vial in front of him, deep in thought. He spun the neck of the vial between his fingers, as if trying to fidget with something would help make the situation not as awkward.

 _He doesn’t want to say,_ Lily thought, _I’ll have to live with that._

“Look,” Lily said, holding her hands up, “you don’t have to explain to me, I just want to make sure the woman wasn’t going to drug you-”

“It’s called Wolfsbane,” Remus said, his voice so quiet that Lily almost talked over him. Lily had never seen Remus like this, sounding so vulnerable and small.

Lily could feel James and Sirius’ eyes boring into her skull, as if daring her to say anything out of turn. The four Maunders were fiercely loyal to one another, their visit to Peter in the hospital wing after hours proved as much.

“I read about it in a book once,” Remus said, “apparently it was only a theory, a recipe lost in time. It makes the transition less dangerous.”

“Less dangerous?” Lily asked

Remus looked up at Lily, and Lily was almost taken aback at the intensity in his eyes. This was _his_ secret, a secret that he had carried and that none knew of.

“It means I don’t kill anyone,” Remus said, “when I turn.”

“When you turn what?”

The moment was splintered by Arthur’s impatient tone. Lily stared at the Prince with enough fury in her eyes that would normally make even Sirius Black quake in his boots. However, as Arthur was a Prince, he merely levelled his gaze right back at her.

“I’m only asking the question,” he said, throwing his hands up, “you four are apparently wizards from the future, I’m locked in a cell, and currently there seems to be a conversation around something no one is saying and I am totally lost in it.”

“Maybe the conversation isn’t for you,” Sirius said coldly.

“We’re all locked in the same cell,” Arthur remarked, folding his arms, “and you’re going nowhere without me because outside this cave you would be dragged to the hangman’s noose before you could even greet someone. So for the purposes of my sanity, can someone tell me what we are all talking about?”

 _I’m going to kill him,_ Lily thought, _no matter how much it screws up time._

“I’m a werewolf,” Remus said, staring intently at Arthur in a challenge.

Much to Lily’s surprise, Arthur did not look as terrified as he should have been. As _Lily_ felt, right at that moment, because every instinct in her bones and logic was telling her that her gut instinct was true and that Remus was _dangerous._

“There was a girl,” Arthur said, as if explaining his lack of terror, “she was cursed to change form when midnight struck. She had no control over her powers, and was dangerous. I thought her a monster, at the time, as everyone did. In her monster’s form, she killed four people.”

“Better be going somewhere good with this,” Lily heard Sirius mutter under his breath.

“At the time?” Remus asked, “what made you change your mind?”

“Merlin,” Arthur confessed, “it took him months to get back to his normal self, and even then there was something different about him. It was as if he saw behind that girl’s affliction and saw her. If here were here, he would say that you were no different.”

Lily watched in astonishment as Arthur got to his feet and held out his hand to Remus.

“Merlin would have no question as to accepting you for who you are,” Arthur said, “so neither will I.”

Remus stared at Arthur’s hand in shock. He then took it firmly and shook it.

“And as you say,” Arthur said, glancing at Sirius, “we all need each other to get out of here. I might not trust you all yet, but you seem honest enough that you won’t kill me. For now, that will do.”

 _Charming man,_ Lily thought.

“Now we’ve done pleasantries,” Remus said, to break the awkward silence that was falling around the cell, “James, Sirius you had a way to break out of here?”

“Certainly, Moony,” James said, as he stepped away from their little group and walked towards the cell door. Lily wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do, she just stood still whilst Sirius went over to help James cut out a small section of the bars that wouldn’t be structurally important.

“You okay?” Remus whispered. Lily almost jumped out of her skin.

“Yep,” she replied, smiling, “just, y’know, lot to take in.”

Remus nodded understandingly, as he pocketed the wolfsbane.

“I get that a lot,” he replied.

“No, no,” Lily shook her head, “you’re still _you,_ Remus. You’re the best potions partner and good friend to boot. I just want you to be okay.”

Remus smiled, before pulling Lily into a tight hug. Lily could feel the relief in the hug as she squeezed Remus tight. It would be hard and lonely life for Remus, shunned by society and those who didn’t understand. The idea that he was cursed to become a dangerous killing creature every month made Lily sick at the injustice of the world.

“I’m okay,” Remus said, releasing Lily from their hug, “James, Sirius and Peter have got my back.”

“I know,” Lily admitted, looking towards where James and Sirius was cutting out the final part of the bar to make a small enough hole to clamber out of their cavern, “however annoying they can be.”

“Right,” Sirius said, as he pushed out the last bar, “our entrance is clear! Who wants to escape first?”

“I do,” Arthur said, “we need to find Merlin. I don’t know what our captors would have done to him, but he won’t be able to defend-”

“Did you miss the bit where he was the most powerful Warlock in history?” James said, “he could probably make the Hydra go to sleep just by sneezing.”

 _I don’t think he forgot the part about Merlin being a Warlock, James,_ Lily thought, looking at Arthur’s blank face. The Prince was still struggling with that, having to fight against his ingrained sense of hatred of all things magic. Lily supposed it was one thing to meet wizards from the future, it was quite another to know that your own best friend was a Warlock.

“Let’s get moving,” Arthur said, avoiding James’ question in its entirety, as he crouched down to shuffle through the small hole that James and Sirius had made in the bars. Remus followed, then Sirius.

“After you,” James said, gesturing to the hole.

Lily rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. Somewhere, under the brash exterior of the boy who constantly played pranks on others for laughs lay a man who was kinder than James would ever admit to being.

“Thanks,” she replied, shuffling through the hold, taking Remus’ proffered hand to stead herself as she ducked under the cell bars and stepped out into the corridor.

James stepped out last. In quick succession, he placed the bars back in their original holes, waving his wand with a few simple heat charms to make the pieces mould back together. It wasn’t a perfect job, Lily could see the joins from where she was standing, but it would make their captors think twice about how they managed to escape.

“Right,” James said, “what now?”

“We find Merlin,” Arthur said, his voice making the statement sound more like an order. Even though he had been stripped of his weapons and armour, Lily did have to admit that now he did look like the leader from legend.

“And how do we do that?” Sirius asked, “it’s not like we can just ask for directions.”

“Not sure about that,” Remus said, nodding to the end of the hallway.

Lily followed Remus’ gaze, levelling her wand at the figure which stood in the end of the tunnel, holding a torch which illuminated her face.

It was the woman with the bandaged eyes.

“Who are you?” Arthur asked.

“My name is Cassandra,” the woman said, “I don’t have long. You wish to see the Warlock, no?”

“How do we know we can trust you?” Sirius said.

“You cannot,” Cassandra replied. In the torchlight, her bandaged face looked almost monstrous. She was still wearing the ragged dress that she had worn earlier when she had delivered the wands and Wolfsbane to their cell.

 _I don’t like her,_ Lily thought, _something isn’t right._

“Great,” Arthur replied dryly, “just point us in the right direction and we’ll be off.”

Cassandra stayed silent. If her eyes were uncovered, Lily felt that she would have been boring into Arthur with the same kind of deadpan gaze that Lily used often on James.

“Or we’ll follow you,” James suggested, “but don’t try anything funny.”

Cassandra smiled a dark smile.

“That isn’t my forte,” she replied, “but know this. I was the one who brought you help, Arthur Pendragon, so you can trust me.”

“Help?” Sirius asked.

“I think she means us,” James replied.

“Us?” Sirius asked.

“I cannot stop the magician that you have come here to defeat, Arthur Pendragon,” Cassandra said, “but I have tried to give you help.”

“How did you know I was coming here?” Arthur said, “who put us in the cell?”

Cassandra smiled.

 _Something is definitely not right,_ Lily thought.

“That is my secret and mine alone,” Cassandra said, “come, I will take you to the Warlock.”

She turned swiftly on her heel, turning to her left and down the corridor beyond.

“Merlin is the priority,” Arthur said to no one in particular, as he started to follow Cassandra, “after that, we find who did this.”

James shrugged at Sirius, and the two begun to follow Arthur down the hallway. Lily sighed, sharing a look with Remus that said _I am never following you three down through spooky doors again._

“This is marvellous,” Lily remarked.

“My words exactly,” Remus replied, “anyway, if Merlin _is_ here, he should be able to get us home.”

 _Should,_ Lily thought. There were too many unknowns, too many variables that she couldn’t work out. She always liked to _know,_ to be able to work out logically what was going on around her and then work out how she was going to deal with any problems the world threw at her.

Here, there was no such logic.

“I hope so,” Lily muttered, as she followed James and Sirius down the corridor, “I hope so.

x-x-x

Arthur walked along in their little group, lost in his own thoughts. They were mainly revolving around how _positively weird_ this day was becoming. He could deal with being captured and being held in a cell. He could even deal with the potential problem of the seven-headed monster, the _Hydra,_ that James had described was also lurking down here. Arthur thought he could deal with these two things despite the fact that he didn’t even have his sword or armour with him. Sirius had seemed very disappointed at this, he claimed that the legends had claimed Arthur had a magical sword called Excalibur.

What he _still_ couldn’t get his head around was the fact he was walking down a corridor with four magicians, one of whom had just been revealed to be a Werewolf; and the fact they weren’t the evil, scheming, malicious practitioners of magic he had been brought up to believe all magicians were. He would even go so far to say they were _nice_.

However, that problem was a small irritating fly, compared to the massive, _huge_ dilemma that was facing him.

Merlin.

Normally, when the words ‘problem’ and ‘Merlin’ were in the same sentence, it was because Merlin hadn’t done something, like polish Arthur’s armour, or tidy his room, or not paying the proper respect that a manservant should do to a Prince. However, this dilemma, this problem that Arthur was facing was more of a moral sort, the sort that philosophers would love to debate and argue over, and the sort of moral dilemma that Arthur thought he would never face.

 _He can do magic,_ Arthur thought, _magic._

His thoughts were not helped by the fact that his four companions, which Cassandra seemed to have hinted were his help of all things, seemed to hold _Merlin_ of all people in high reverence.

“You’re looking thoughtful,” a voice said next to Arthur. Arthur jumped, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

“Sorry,” Arthur said, smiling thinly at Remus. He meant every word that he had said to Remus in the cell, Merlin _would_ accept Remus for who he was, and that meant that Arthur would try his best not to judge. However, his fighting training made him automatically tighten his hands into fists.

Just because Arthur accepted Remus, it didn’t mean that he felt _safe._

“Don’t worry,” Remus said with an easy smile, “I don’t bite. Well, not unless we happen to find some moonlight in an underground cavern.” He laughed at the last bit.

“Right,” Arthur said, forcing himself to relax a little.

“You’re worried about Merlin,” Remus stated simply.

Arthur looked at him incredulous.

 _He can’t read minds can he_? he thought.

“It’s written all over your face,” Remus said.

“Well what am I supposed to do?” Arthur asked. He couldn’t help keeping the desperation out of his voice. He had _no idea_ what to do.

“You know what they said when they found out?” Remus said, nodding towards James and Sirius, who were currently explaining to Lily how Peter had got stuck in a mousetrap whilst setting up part of the prank something called a _Quidditch Pitch_ , hence the reason he had been put in the hospital wing the night the door had appeared in Hogwarts.

Arthur had no idea what they were talking about, they were from the _future._ Quidditch could easily mean fighting dragons, they were wizards after all.

“I wouldn’t know,” Arthur replied to Remus.

“They said they didn’t care. I was there friend and they accepted me for who I was. I heard them discussing it late at night when I pretended to be asleep. Peter was the only one who made an off hand comment about it being dangerous being near a Werewolf.”

“What happened?” Arthur asked.

“Sirius broke his jaw.” Remus replied, with a smile.

 _Well even if I don’t understand half of what they’re talking about,_ Arthur thought, _I can understand that loyalty. I have that with the other Knights._

“They made sure I never felt bad about my condition. They accepted me for who I was and wouldn’t hear me say otherwise,” Remus said, “and if you consider yourself a true friend to Merlin, you wouldn’t care if he could wield magic.”

 _Damn werewolf,_ Arthur thought, _might have heighted perception of thoughts and feelings._

“I know,” Arthur said. Remus was right, but it didn’t help the internal struggle that Arthur was trying to resolve. Merlin wouldn’t even hurt a fly, he was like a helpless hedgehog, it was _Arthur_ who needed to protect _him._

And Merlin would have _learnt_ magic. He had made that decision to corrupt himself.

“According to our historical records,” Remus said, as if reading Arthur’s mind, “Merlin was a Warlock.”

“A what?” Arthur said.

“A Warlock,” Remus repeated, “In your time Warlock means that someone has been born with the ability to learn magic. Merlin had as much choice about being able to wield magic as you had as much choice to be a Prince.”

“I thought people who wielded magic voluntarily learnt it,” Arthur said.

“Most did,” Remus said, “but not all. Those who voluntarily learnt it are mostly the ones who wish to use it for their evil intents. It is not the magic that is evil; it is the person who wields it.”

Arthur mused quietly. He was already beginning to trust these four magicians, who he had barely met before; why could he not trust Merlin, even if he was able to wield magic.

 _After all_ , Arthur thought, _if Merlin was truly evil, he would have acted against me by now_.

There was nothing for it; he would have to accept Merlin for who he was.

 _I might as well after all,_ Arthur thought, _Merlin has broken the law enough times by not giving me the proper respect I deserve as Prince._

The decision seemed to settle his internal conflict. Arthur tended to find that once he had made a decision, he stuck by it. It was the hallmark of his birth, no Prince could consider ruling without sticking by his decisions. Ruling meant making difficult decisions all the time, and this was one of those decisions.

 _I choose Merlin,_ Arthur thought to himself.

So deep in thought was Arthur that he nearly ran into the back of Sirius, who had stopped in front of him. Looking over the tall Wizard’s shoulder he saw that Cassandra had led them to an intersection. Ahead of them, the corridor walls lost their manmade look, the rocky walls became more rugged and jarred as the path had to change direction to weave through the natural formation.

To their left, the corridor continued with its uniform walls with a uniform height.

“He is down there,” Cassandra said, pointing down the darkened corridor to their left, “but be wary, these stone walls are not natural. They has been bathed in the power of moonlight to give it strength, it was designed specifically to hold magic wielders.”

“So glad we didn’t try and blow up the wall now,” Sirius muttered.

“Now I must leave you,” Cassandra said, glancing over her shoulder to the grassy, rugged path behind her, as if she could sense something the others could not, “I have helped you enough.”

“Thank you,” Arthur said, “for helping us.”

Cassandra smiled.

“Thank me when you have escaped from here,” she replied, “make Albion great, Prince Arthur.”

With that, she turned away from the group and strode forcefully away from the group. It was not long before the light of her torch disappeared in the ragged rock formations that split up the windy path.

“Lumos,” Arthur heard James say to his left. The sudden light blinded Arthur, and he raised his hand to try and let his eyes adjust. In quick succession, the other three wizards had lit the end of their wands with magic.

Arthur could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

 _I have to stop doing that,_ he thought to himself, _Merlin can do that too._

“Well,” Arthur said, trying to hide his instinctive fear of magic, “I guess we go down there.” He gestured down the corridor the woman had indicated a few moments before.

With James leading the way, their small group made their way down the corridor. Arthur couldn’t help but constantly be on alert, ready to be attacked from any angle. This place was unnatural, and if it had been bathed in moonlight then it meant Arthur was walking between magical walls which put him distinctly at ease.

“Why do you think Merlin was separated from us?” Sirius questioned.

“You said you were searching for a ‘mad’ magician no?” James asked Arthur

“Yes,” Arthur replied, “I assume it was because he assumed Merlin was a threat. If he is as you say, then it would make sense. I would be considered less dangerous than Merlin.”

Arthur almost hated those words, but they were true. If Merlin was as powerful as the four wizards insisted, then he _would_ be considered more dangerous than Arthur.

They continued walking, their footsteps echoing off the walls of the stone walls. Arthur could hear Lily muttering about increasing the number of weeks the Marauders would have to abstain from pranks to pay back for involving her in a trip back through time.

The corridor curved, clearly designed to snake backwards and forward to try and disorientate any escapee. After a good few twists and turns, the corridor begun to straighten out.

“Wait, what’s that?” James said, waving his wand in the direction of a dim light which was just about illuminating the other end of the corridor.

“Merlin?” Arthur asked, his voice echoing down the corridor.

The light went out.

“That has to be him,” Sirius said, “the light went out when you asked his name.”

“Unless the sorcerer you were chasing has a few more magic creating Hydras down here,” James remarked, making his way towards the dim light.

Arthur followed, heart beating wildly in his chest.

It only took them a minute to walk down the remainder of corridor, and find the area where the light had been coming from. The group came across a cell, barred by thick iron bars that stretched across its entrance. Even though they had a lot of light, courtesy of James, Sirius, Remus and Lily, the cell was too deep for the light to penetrate across the whole cell. There was a deep shadow that crossed the back of the cell, a shadow that Arthur assumed Merlin was sitting in.

Arthur stood back from the cell door. Nerves were normally something that Arthur didn’t have to contend with, as he knew he was normally the best at anything he tried. However, just reaching the cell where Merlin was held made him more nervous that he had been on his first hunt, or in his first battle.

He had to face up to his fear of magic and throw it to one side to accept Merlin.

“Go on,” Remus whispered, giving Arthur a nudge forward. Arthur shot him a disgruntled look as he made his way towards the cell door, and gripped onto the iron bars like they were holding him in one place. The cool metal cleared his nervous and worried mind just a little bit.

Arthur heard shuffling, and glanced over his shoulder to see James, Lily, Sirius and Remus shuffling backwards to give him some room. Sirius gave him an over-enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ and Remus gave an encouraging nod.

“Merlin,” Arthur began, biting his lip, “I... I know what you are.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: We're getting into the meat of the story now, which means chapters are taking longer to edit! (This one alone was originally 3 chapters now worked into 1). Thank you for being patient with me, and hope you enjoy the latest instalment!!
> 
> Special thanks to those who have taken the time to leave a comment/kudos, they keep me plugging away!

Merlin sat in the corner of his cell, curled up against the cold stone wall and holding Arthur’s sword in his hands. A dim ball of light hovered above him, not enough to completely illuminate his cell, but enough to keep the darkness away. The darkness was kind of comforting, it reminded Merlin of simpler times when he would lie in bed after wishing Gaius goodnight, wondering about his destiny and where it might lead him.

The doorway was a no go that was obvious. He had tried a few muttered spells on the iron bars but all had been in vain. The magic on the bars was too strong unless Merlin decided to unleash the full extent of his power, and he was not prepared to do that whilst Arthur was still potentially at risk.

“Wait, what was that?”

Merlin jerked from his thoughts, his ball of light quivering as he strained to hear what was being said.

“Merlin?” another voice said.

Merlin put his light out in an instant. They knew his name, whoever they were, and that meant they knew who Arthur was.

 _Arthur is in danger,_ Merlin thought. He could hear the smattering of footsteps against the stone floor coming down the corridor. Merlin could feel his heart pounding inside his chest as the footsteps got louder.

 _They have a light too,_ Merlin thought, as the wall outside his cell became more illuminated, _that means they’re-_

Merlin stopped mid thought when he saw Arthur standing outside his cell, along with four people who seemed to be no more than teenagers. They each held a long stick, which had a ball of unnatural glowing light pulsating on the end of it.

 _Magicians,_ Merlin thought, _and Arthur is with them._

It was almost instinctual the way he made the darkness wrap around him. Just as much as he was the master of light, he could also manipulate the shadows to become deeper around him.

A cloak of shadow. A mask by which he could hide behind.

 _If he saw the light,_ Merlin thought, as Arthur peered into his cell, _he will know. He can’t know! Maybe he’ll think it was a trick of the light? Maybe I could knock him out again? There has to be some way out of this!_

 “Go on,” Merlin heard one of the four unknown magicians say to Arthur, pushing him forward. Arthur stepped forward and gripped the iron bars like they were a lifeline – obviously, Merlin deduced, he was _very_ nervous.

“Merlin,” Merlin heard Arthur start, “I... I know what you are.”

Merlin’s heart almost stopped out of shock. The shadow became the blackness of the universe, so dark that Merlin could barely piece the gloom and make out Arthur’s hazy form standing up against the bars in front of him.

 _He can’t know,_ Merlin thought, gripping the hilt of Arthur’s sword in panic. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, Arthur wasn’t _supposed_ to know Merlin had magic.

Because if Arthur knew Merlin had magic, then he would have to sentence him to death.

“Damn,” Merlin heard Arthur curse, “that sounded better in my head.”

Merlin didn’t move. He barely breathed. He just stared at Arthur, trying not to let the panic reign over his whole body. He was cornered, trapped, in this cell but now there was _Arthur_ standing outside of it saying that _he knew who Merlin was._

He knew Merlin had magic.

“I can’t say I’m not surprised,” Arthur said, “but I’ve got it on good authority that you’re supposed to be some sort of legend in the future.”

Merlin stayed silent.

 _Arthur who are those people you are with?_ Merlin thought.

“They’re from the future, you see,” Arthur said, his tone breaking as if he was having trouble sounding out the words, “they’re _magicians.”_

Merlin could tell that Arthur was trying very hard to keep the distrust and disbelief from his voice. But however hard he tried, a childhood of believing that magicians were evil still slipped out around the edges of his words.

“Apparently,” Arthur said, “we’re famous in their time. There is supposed to be a magical legend of Camelot, and I’m supposed to be a heroic King and you’re supposed to be the most powerful wizard ever to have lived.”

 _He can’t know that,_ Merlin thought, _only I know of that prophecy! Unless-_

 _Unless the other magicians really_ are _from the future._

For a moment, Merlin teared his eyes away from Arthur to have a better look at the four magicians who were standing behind him. Merlin’s estimation of their age had been about correct, he would put them in their late teens at least. They were probably a similar age to Merlin when he had first come to Camelot.

The thing that interested Merlin most was their clothing. They all wore the same black robes, with the same cut and from what Merlin could tell it was the same cloth.

 _Almost like a uniform,_ Merlin thought, _where are they from?_

“Look Merlin,” Arthur pleaded, “I’m not joking. They even swear by your beard!”

Merlin couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at that.

 _I don’t even have a beard!_ he thought.

“Merlin,” Arthur said, exasperated, “I understand why you didn’t tell me. If I was you I wouldn’t have told me if I had magic. I trust you Merlin; if you have magic then you can wield magic. Look, can you at _least_ create some light so I know I’m talking to you? Because this conversation is being made much harder by the fact I could be talking to thin air.”

Merlin smiled involuntary at the last comment, but deep inside he was worried. He wasn’t worried that Arthur wouldn’t accept him for who he was, he already knew Arthur was a proud and loyal Prince. He could be a prat sometimes, but he was loyal to his Kingdom, and his friends.

No, Merlin was worried about if _he_ could accept _Arthur_ knowing. After keeping his secret for so long, it felt odd just Arthur talking to him about it. He felt like a part of him had been laid bare for all to see and judge.

 _If Arthur can accept me,_ Merlin thought fiercely, _then I must accept that._

With a thought, a small ball of light appeared in front of him. Merlin saw Arthur’s face tense up slightly at him performing magic, before relaxing again. The shadows receded as Merlin allowed them to sweep back to their dark corners and hidden crevices as he pushed himself up from the floor. He still held Arthur’s sword in his hand, it was a comfort for him however awkwardly he held the weapon. It was something ordinary, something that had _stayed normal._

 _He knows who I am,_ Merlin thought, as he came level with the bars to look into Arthur’s eyes. He could see the panic behind Arthur’s calm façade, but there was also something else there.

 _Trust,_ Merlin thought.

“I trust you,” Arthur said, staring back at Merlin with the quiet intensity of a man who would one day be King.

“I know,” Merlin replied.

And that was all he needed to say.

“He doesn’t have a beard!” one of the magicians exclaimed, sounding disappointed.

“Shut up, Padfoot,” another of the magicians said, elbowing the first boy in the ribs.

“I’m only saying what you were thinking, Prongs,” the magician, Padfoot said.

Arthur, ignoring the bickering of his companions, stepped back from the cell doors.

“Can you get out?” he asked Merlin.

Merlin surveyed the door again. Sure, he had tried getting out by removing part of the cell door, but that had been the methods that hadn’t required much magic.

 _Could always give a show,_ Merlin said.

“Stand back,” Merlin said, “I’ll blow the door.”

Arthur raised his eyebrow and took a few steps back.

Merlin readied his spell.

“Wait,” one of the magicians, Prong, said from behind Arthur, “the woman, Cassandra, said that these walls had been bathed in Moonlight.”

“Prongs, that’s probably just her way of trying to make it more dramatic,” the other magician, Padfoot, replied, “rock can’t be bathed in Moonlight.”

“Then why did she give Remus the Wolfsbane, Black?” the red headed magician retorted sharply, “she had to know that Remus might have to use it.”

The fourth magician, who Merlin assumed was Remus, did not speak. However, Merlin could see that he was fiddling with something in the pocket of his robes.

 _Wolfsbane,_ Merlin thought. He hadn’t heard of the potion, but it was not a hard connection to make between _moonlight_ and _wolf._

“I’ll find another way out,” Merlin said, stepping forward. These bars were a problem , but maybe –

“I’ll be fine,” Remus said, as he took a small bottle out of his pocket and removed the stopped.

“Remus, don’t drink it!” the red headed girl exclaimed, almost diving at Remus. However, Remus was faster, lifting the bottle to his lips and downing the contents in one.

“You sure that’s not going to kill you?” Padfoot asked.

“No, Sirius,” Remus said, “I will be okay.”

“You’ll be fine _now,_ ” the girl fumed, “poisons can take a long time to have an effect. You have no idea what the woman could have put in it-”

“Only one way to find out,” Remus said, looking at Merlin, “you can blow the door down now.”

“I don’t want to cause you any…er…difficulties,” Merlin said, stumbling over his words. Remus smiled, sympathetically.

“I’ll be alright,” he replied, “I’ve had worse. James’ cooking for one is _awful._ ”

“I will have you know I _can_ make a decent sausage and mash dinner,” the boy named Prongs, Merlin assumed his real name was James, replied.

“That’s not the point,” the red headed girl hissed, “Remus, we have to get back now,”

“We can’t,” Remus pointed out, “we’re going to need _help._ Merlin is the only one who can get us home. I for one will take that risk. It’s our only chance, Lily.”

The red haired girl, Lily, fumed. However, she seemed to accept Remus’ logic.

“Fine,” she muttered, moving down the corridor and out of the way of Merlin’s cell door. The other three boys followed her. Arthur, however, stayed put.

“You sure you can blow the door off?” he asked, looking quizzically at Merlin, and then at the solid rock around the cell door.

“Yes,” Merlin said. It was all he could say, really. What else was he supposed to say? Arthur still looked at Merlin with a sense of disbelief, as if the Prince was trying to hold onto the last strains of hope that Merlin really _wasn’t_ a powerful magician.

 _It’s hardly going to be something that he’ll get over overnight,_ Merlin thought to himself. However much he wanted it to be, Arthur might _say_ that he accepted Merlin, but it wasn’t as if Arthur’s values hadn’t been rocked to the core. It would take a while for them to right again.

 _Just get on with it,_ Merlin told himself. He gestured for Arthur to join the other four magicians, and fortunately the Prince did so.

Then, Merlin held up his hand and stared at the rock around the cell door.

“ _Blæddrena_ ,” Merlin said.

The rock around the iron bars began to crack and groan. The whole room shook, as dust fell to the floor like rain.

Merlin focussed his magic even more, putting more strength into the spell.

 _Come on,_ Merlin thought, gritting his teeth. He could _feel_ the rock trying to resist his spell, whoever had made this cell had laced it together with far more than just moonlight. It had been designed to hold even the strongest of magicians.

 _Crack_.

Suddenly the whole iron bars shot away from their hold and across the other side of the corridor. It smashed into the rock face, before falling backwards and onto the floor in a crash.

Merlin coughed in the dust that had been kicked up, as he walked through the now open doorway and out into the corridor. The other four wizards had lit up the end of their wands, and were looking at Merlin with some sort of awestruck reverence.

 Arthur, however, looked horrified.

“This is yours,” Merlin said, holding out Arthur’s sword to him. Arthur wordlessly took the sword hilt from Merlin. Merlin tried to smile, if not to offer some comfort to his friend.

“I wanted to do that,” Sirius whispered reverently.

“Black, if you learnt to do that there wouldn’t be much of Hogwarts left,” Lily said.

“Do we bow?” James asked.

“Bow?” Remus asked.

“It’s _Merlin,”_ Sirius said, in the same kind of voice that most people used when meeting Arthur for the first time.

“Hi,” Merlin said, “I believe you know me?”

“We know you alright, mate,” Sirius remarked, “you’re just _the most famous wizard of all time._ ”

“That might be a bit of an exaggeration,” Merlin began.

“We’re from the future,” James said, “we know. _All of time.”_

“I really think we should be going,” Arthur stated, having recovered from his shock, “someone is likely to have heard that bang.”

“Good point,” Merlin said, “I don’t want to find the person who made that cave. We need more support to take this magician out.”

“Since when did you become so good at battle tactics, Merlin?” Arthur asked.

“Since I have always been saving your arse,” Merlin replied with a smile, “albeit subtly.”

“Subtly?” Arthur asked, “as in with magic?”

“ _Really subtly,”_ Merlin replied, with a smile.

Arthur’s smile back made Merlin’s heart lift with joy.

“Run.”

Merlin turned towards Remus, who was shakily holding his hands out in front of him. It was then that Merlin noticed the sliver of ethereal light that was dancing from the ceiling where Merlin had blown the top of his cell door from its mountings.

“It’s moonlight,” Remus said, “I can feel it, _RUN!”_

Merlin didn’t need telling twice.

x-x-x

Remus could feel the change coming upon him, woken up from its sleep by the moonlight’s touch on his hand. He knew that he had only a few minutes before the transformation began, and he planned to use those minutes wisely. The sound of their footsteps as they ran down the corridor, led by James, gave him some comfort that they should be able to get away unscathed.

“You okay?” Sirius asked. It was a wordless agreement between the four of them, if there ever was anyone who would be exposed to Remus in his werewolf form, James would lead the others to safety and Sirius would stay behind with Remus.

Remus nodded. He tried to ignore the pain inside his head, fighting the madness as hard as he could. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out totally – the madness of the werewolf curse was stronger than him, but he could buy himself some more time.

His senses were heightening, his eyesight becoming sharper, and his sense of smell stronger.

 _I don’t have much time,_ Remus thought, squeezing his eyes shut. He could _smell_ Sirius now, the sweat down the other boy’s back, he could even feel the movement of the air coming in and out of his lungs. Remus could feel his whole body trembling, as the madness of his curse swept over him, pummelling through his veins.

“Is it working?” Sirius asked.

Remus forced open his eyes for a bare minute. Even his sight had shifted now, the colours mellowing out into the greyscale vision of the wolf. He could feel his legs give way underneath him before he could give a response, as the madness clawed its way to the surface. It held Remus in its invisible vice like grip. The world began to swim in front of him, and Remus shut his eyes to stop himself feeling dizzy.

Then, the pain stopped.

Remus felt the clawing of the madness die down, as if it was muted and muffled by an invisible blanket. He felt a numbness enter him, travelling up from his toes, through his legs, across his torso, down his arms and up into his head. He could sense where his body was, he could sense they were changing. He could hear the bones cracking and rearranging. He could sense his jaw stretching, his eyes moving, his ears growing longer; but he didn’t feel any pain. He didn’t feel the burning pain that would accompany each snap, the searing pain of his jaw growing longer. He knew he was changing, but he kept his mind.

He slowly opened his eyes. The world looked different from his angle, parts were sharper than normal, but there was no colour now. The world around him was made up of hues of black and white.

In front of him, Sirius stood in his human form, tentatively waiting for Moony to make the first move. Moony shifted his paws underneath him, feeling the cold stone underneath his padded feet. It was strange, normally he was consumed by the bloodlust of his curse, but now it was as if was just the _wolf,_ and not the madness that normally accompanied his transformations.

Moony nudged Sirius hand gently with his nose.

 _It’s alright,_ Moony tried to say.

“It worked!” Sirius said, gleefully. Moony barked in agreement.

_Pop._

Suddenly, the man became a huge black dog. Moony barked, delighted, as he recognised his friend, Padfoot.

“ _Moony_?” the dog barked at him.

“ _It was Wolfsbane, Padfoot,”_ Moony howled back. Padfoot yelped happily and tackled Moony to the floor.

After a few minutes, the werewolf and the dog stopped playing, and assessed their situation.

 _“Where are they_?” Padfoot growled at Moony.

Moony sniffed the air, picking up a faint scent of a human he knew as Prongs, as well as the other humans. However, the smell that worried him the most was that of a sticky substance, whose smell penetrated every cell in Moony’s sensitive nose.

Blood.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has given me comments and kudos! This chapter needed a lot of work, and re-reading your comments helped a lot!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! Comments and kudos are wonderful and I treasure each and every one of them.

Arthur stood stock still when Remus told them to run. He just stared at the skinny boy, his mind not able to comprehend the terror in the boy’s eyes as he frantically looked around him for some kind of exit.

James simply grabbled Lily’s wrist and pulled her down the corridor at full pelt without so much as a word.

“Come _on!”_ Merlin said, shoving Arthur’s shoulder to break him from his thoughts. Arthur stumbled over his feet, before managing to catch himself as he ran after James and Lily. Merlin brought up the rear, which felt more like Merlin was acting like some kind of rearguard than his normal position of trailing after Arthur.

 _He’s got magic,_ Arthur thought to himself, _he can protect himself._

His feet pounded on the floor, following a few feet behind James and Lily. Arthur couldn’t help but grip his sword hilt tightly. It was the only thing that was _normal_ in this place.

James skidded to a halt at the intersection where Cassandra had left them mere moments before. Lily looked furiously at James, ripping her wrist from James’ grasp.

“James Potter,” she snapped, “we can’t just leave Sirius,”

“We can,” James said, eyes darting up and down the corridor. The boy seemed older now, assuming responsibility for the safety of his companions.

“What do we do?” Arthur asked. It wasn’t normal he would defer to someone else, but he had to admit he was out of his depth here.

“We can’t stay as a group,” James said, “I cannot guarantee that it _was_ Wolfsbane and if it was, then we don’t want to stay together. Split here, and we have less of a chance of being found if Remus has gone full wolf on us.”

“Full wolf?” Merlin asked, as he joined Arthur’s side.

“Mad,” James replied, staring up at Arthur and setting his mouth firmly with distaste of the word, “I’m not letting Remus be responsible for attacking us. If he _is_ mad now, he’ll never forgive himself.”

“Fine,” Arthur said, gesturing over his shoulder to the uneven, more natural corridor behind him, “we’ll go this way, you two take the other route. Count to 500 when you find somewhere safe, then reconvene here?”

“500 seconds is hardly going to be enough,” James said, “Remus won’t lose the madness for at least 5 hours, which is the shortest he’s changed in the height of summer. Wait at least one hour and then we’ll come back here.”

“Fine,” Arthur said, grabbing Merlin’s shoulder and pushing the scrawny man towards the corridor, “stay safe you two.”

“Likewise,” Lily remarked, as she turned on her heel and began to run down the corridor leading in the opposite direction. James nodded once to Arthur and Merlin, before following Lily’s path.

“Any reason why you wanted to go the spooky path?” Merlin asked over his shoulder, “we could have gone the other route.”

“I’m not letting the kids go down here,” Arthur said, following Merlin into the corridor. It wasn’t really a corridor, if Arthur was honest, more of a fissure cut into the rock, stretching high above them into the cavern roof. It was lined with hundreds of glowing mosses that hung in their own ethereal light from the lips of the rocky outcrops that jutted out of the cave walls overhead.

“And you think we’re okay?” Merlin replied. Irritatingly, Merlin was able to slide though the smaller gaps in the pathway, contorting his skinny body around random rocky outcrops that stuck out from the side of the cave walls. Arthur, however, had a bit more difficulty getting through the cracks.

“You’re supposedly one of the most powerful wizards of all time,” Arthur replied, working his leg around a particularly awkwardly placed piece of rock, “I know we’ll be okay.”

“You know?” Merlin replied, turning in the small corridor and looking at Arthur with a curious expression across his face, “you think magic is just an end-all option that’ll mean we’re _not_ going to get injured?”

“Nope,” Arthur replied, honestly, “I know you. Even if you weren’t charged up with magic, you’ll generally have some sort of way of getting out of trouble. Although thinking of it you were probably just using magic on those occasions weren’t you?”

Merlin smiled, just slightly.

“Only a few,” he replied.

“A few?” Arthur said, “come on, tell me, how many times have you used magic to get out of a difficult situation? Used it to save my life?”

“Lost count,” Merlin replied, with a chuckle, “for a Prince you do manage to endanger yourself a stupid amount of the time.”

“It comes with being a Prince,” Arthur replied, “You’re expected to be brave and noble.”

“When you are those things, could you tell me?” Merlin joked. Arthur clipped him round the back of his head, causing Merlin to groan in pain.

“You’re supposed to show me some respect you know,” Arthur commented.

“And you’re not supposed to be a Prat with a capital ‘P’,” Merlin quipped back.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Should we wait here until we go back?” he asked, jokingly, “if I’m such a prat.”

“You’re not a complete Prat,” Merlin said, “just a partial one.”

“ _Merlin,”_ Arthur sighed, although it wasn’t with any force. He couldn’t help smile at the banter, this felt _normal,_ it was what they always did to pass the time on long journeys.

“So what do we do now?” Merlin asked, peering at the wall on his right with all of the inquisitiveness of a child.

“I have no idea,” Arthur said, as Merlin peered closer at the wall to the point where his nose was almost touching the rock.

“Merlin what are you doing?” Arthur asked as Merlin squinted at something on the rock.

“There is something wrong with this wall,” Merlin said, “it doesn’t look right.”

“Merlin,” Arthur said, “It’s a natural rock formation it doesn’t look ‘right’ because it isn’t man made.”

“No,” Merlin shook his head, “there is something wrong with it. I can _feel it._ ”

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“Feel it?” Arthur asked, “does your powers grant you another sense?”

Merlin stared flatly at Arthur.

“No,” Merlin replied, “I can just sense it like you can sense someone sneaking up behind you when they’re going to attack. It’s natural.”

“For me its training,” Arthur said, “I can’t naturally speak to walls.”

“I’m not speaking to the wall,” Merlin muttered, as he pressed his hand flat against the rock and shut his eyes, “I’m sensing what’s _behind_ the wall.”

“Behind the wall?” Arthur asked.

Merlin opened his eyes, snapping his hand away from the wall.

“We have to leave here,” Merlin said, pointing towards the way they had come, “now.”

“There is a werewolf that way,” Arthur said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder, “what’s worse than a werewolf?”

As if on cue, the wall shuddered behind Merlin. Arthur gripped his sword tightly as the whole wall just _glided_ to one side, the rock door sliding into the wall next to it.

What Arthur saw filled him with horror.

The air just around the doorway was distorted slightly, like the haze that would rise up from the horizon during the hot summer days. Yet even the haze did not conceal the black figures who hovered on the other side of it, their hoods falling over their faces. Arthur gulped as one of them raised its hand towards him, and then recoiled in horror when he realised that there was no skin around the thing’s hand, it was just made up of bone.

“Arthur we have to go,” Merlin said. Arthur heard him, but it didn’t register. All he could see were these black _things_ floating in front of him, which even though he could not see their eyes Arthur could _feel_ them looking at him.

The dread was instantaneous. Arthur didn’t know what kind of magic the creatures had, but in that instant he felt like that there was just _nothing_ inside of him. It was as if every emotion had been suppressed, and that he was just left with a deafening numbness that spread from his mind through every cell of his body.

“Arthur!” Merlin shouted next to him. Arthur could _hear_ Merlin, he could feel Merlin pulling at his arm, but at the same time the thought didn’t register to react to that call. He simply stared in horror at the twenty hooded figures in front of him.

“Arthur, we have to go!” Merlin shouted next to him.

 _But why?_ Arthur thought, _what was the point?_ He stumbled forwards, towards the door, despite Merlin pulling him backwards. The hooded things were horrific, yes, but they floated with an eery sense of calmness. The calmness that came with feeling nothing at all.

No worries, no doubts, no emotions.

Nothing.

Arthur felt his skin go cold as ice as he slid through the magical haze which filled the door way. It was sharp enough to knock sense back into his numbed mind, although it was not enough to stop him stumbling forwards into the room beyond.

“Arthur,” Merlin said, sounding much clearer now, “we have to go!”

Arthur looked at Merlin, confused. His mind still felt sluggish, as if it had just woken up from a long sleep. He turned to look over his shoulder, but there was nothing but a rock wall behind him.

The panic gripped Arthur instantly, as he raised his sword towards the hooded figures.

“Who are you?” Arthur shouted across the room. His voice echoed off the high walls and ceiling, the acoustics were almost perfect. Too perfect for this cavern to have been created by nature’s hand.

The hooded figures did not reply. Merlin tensed up next to Arthur, waiting for a fight.

The hooded figure who still had its hand raised towards Arthur curled it’s finger, twisting its wrist round as if was undoing a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine.

Then Arthur felt a sudden, intense, pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a sword materialised out of thin air, hilt sticking out from his stomach, the blade sticking _through_ him.

Arthur fell to the ground in agony. Through his pain, he could just about hear Merlin scream in defiance.

x-x-x

“James Potter, you are going to explain what is going on,” Lily demanded, “you might be able to fool Prince Arthur and Merlin, but you _know_ that there is no way a human is safe for a werewolf and _Sirius_ is not going to be safe!”

“He’ll be fine,” James remarked. Lily gritted her teeth, repressing the urge to smack the irritating boy around the head.

“Fine?” she asked, “and how do you know that?”

“Just trust me on this one,” James replied, “I need to get you somewhere safe.”

“Me?!” Lily remarked, “and what about yourself, are you going to safe yourself by the sheer power of your ego?”

James shot her a dark look.

“Or maybe just your hair,” Lily continued. She _was_ annoyed, the boy wasn’t thinking straight at all and simply continued marching back down the corridor the way they had come previously. They had no idea where they were, no idea how to get out, and their only option of getting back to their own time had been sent in the opposite direction with instructions from James-‘I’m an idiot’-Potter himself to stay away for at least two hours.

 _I am never following James Potter or his friends_ again, Lily thought to herself. She gritted her teeth and gripped her wand tightly, imagining the number of interesting hexes she could throw at the back of James Potter’s smug head as he continued to stride down the corridor, wand held out in front of him for light.

“He could die you know,” Lily said to James, “werewolf’s attack humans on slight.

“He _won’t_ ,” James said, swinging around to look at Lily, his anger bubbling towards the surface, “He _will not die._ And I know you are going to say something such as: ‘you should have stopped him going’, but frankly, getting in the way of Sirius would have resulted in _my_ death.”

Lily narrowed her eyes at James.

“You’re not telling me something,” Lily said.

“Your powers of observation run before you,” James replied sarcastically, swinging around on his heel and stalking off down the corridor.

“At least they’re not inflating my ego bigger than my head,” Lily snapped to the back of James’ head, striding after him, “how _is_ it that your head fits through doors these days?”

“Oh very funny,” James retorted, “now we need to _move_ before you become the dessert to my main course.”

“And where are we going exactly?” Lily asked, “or do you need my powers of observation to tell you that?”

“We were held in cells,” James said, “which means that there must be some sort of storage area or guardroom nearby. If this is built anything like the castles that Professor Binns kept warbling on about, the guard rooms were also built as weapons chambers and strong rooms in case of attack. We’re going to find one and hide in it.”

“You actually listened in Professor Binns’ classes?” Lily replied, almost impressed, “I thought you spent the entire time throwing paper aeroplanes with Sirius to get the most points when they went through the Professor’s head.”

“That too,” James said, raising his wand as they came to an intersection of the corridor. Lily recognised this section, down to their left lay the cell which they had come from.

“This way,” James said, turning down the opposite corridor.

 _I hope you’re right, Potter,_ Lily thought silently at James’ back. However, she kept throwing a look over her shoulder, expect a fully grown werewolf to come flying around the corner and maul her to death.

 _Don’t be melodramatic,_ she told herself.

“And found it!” James said, turning around to Lily with a smug grin on his face. His wand lit up a small wooden door that sat flush with the smooth rock wall. It had non descript features, but the huge, heavy iron handle was similar to the one that had been on the door which had led them from Hogwarts back in time.

“James it’s the same handle,” Lily said, pointing towards the snakelike pattern that was etched into the handle, “the same one that brough us from Hogwarts.”

“Same interior designer?” James said, “we don’t have much of a choice.”

“I don’t like this,” Lily said, putting her hand out onto the handle and twisting it firmly, “just so you know.”

“Ladies first,” James said.

Lily pushed the door open and stepped through into a cavern.

She stood in the doorway, James barrelling in behind her and making her stumble forwards. She caught herself, taking in her surroundings.

“We’ve been here before,” Lily said, swinging around to look at the door they had just come through. However, it had disappeared.

 _Like last time,_ Lily thought.

“James that was the same door,” Lily said, “someone brought us back to the same cavern again.”

“But we can see this time,” James said, sounding more confident than he looked. His face had paled considerably, and he was holding his wand out in front of him ready to shoot a spell at anything that so much as moved.

“Why is it lit this time-” Lily said, her sentence trailing off as she noticed the black figures on the other side of the cavern. From here, they looked small, too far off to make out any distinctive features, but their floated a good distance off the floor.

And they were massing towards two figures that were on their side of the cavern, one of which was on the floor.

Merlin and Arthur.

“HEY!” James shouted, shooting a spell towards the black figures. The spell hit one of the hoods, making it stumble in its tracks. A number of the figures twisted in mid air, hands held out like a drowning man would grasp for a piece of wood.

“They’re dementors,” Lily said, “we don’t know the Patronus spell, I mean I’ve _read_ about it but-”

“You get to Merlin and Arthur,” James said, taking a couple of steps back from Lily with a strange, smug smile on his face, “I’ll distract them.”

“How?” Lily snapped, “charge them?”

James smirked.

“Something like that,” he replied, “Dementors only affect humans, not animals.”

“Oh and since when have you paid enough attention in transfiguration to become an animagus on the side, James?” Lily remarked, “because even _McGonagall_ found that hard.”

“Funny you should say that, Lily,” James remarked, as he took a step forward. His whole body began to distort, becoming more fluid, as James let himself fall forward onto his hands.

However, as he fell he didn’t fall onto his _hands._ His shoulders widened, and his arms lengthened, so instead of hands, hooves fell onto the stone floor. His neck became longer, his face widening and lengthening, loosing its human form and becoming more animalistic.

Lily’s jaw dropped open as in James’ place a fully grown _stag_ stood in front of her. She had never seen a stag in real life, but she had to say she was _impressed._ James’ shoulder came almost to where Lily’s head was, and his antlers stretched a good few feet above him.

 _Prongs,_ Lily thought, _that’s his nickname._

“Sirius is one too isn’t he?” Lily asked. _That’s how James knew Sirius would be okay._

James tossed his head in agreement.

“After this,” Lily said, “you and I are going to have _words._ Do you  have any idea how ridiculous you are being? It’s _illegal.”_

James snorted.

“A problem for another day,” Lily said, turning towards where a number of the Dementor like figures were floating towards them, “you distract them, I’ll get to Arthur and Merlin. Try not to do anything stupid.”

James tossed his head at that comment. Lily assumed it was the stag version of rolling his eyes.

Then she turned and ran towards Merlin and Sirius, firing hexes out of her wand instinctively. James cantered past her, antlers lowered, directly towards the Dementors.

In that moment, Lily couldn’t help but find a new found respect for James. However, stupid and dangerous it was to be an unregistered animagus, it was _hard._

And for that, Lily couldn’t help but fall a little bit in love.

x-x-x

Merlin reacted on instinct.

He threw up a magical barrier without a second’s thought, turning to catch Arthur as the _thing’s_ magical sword disappeared into thin air. However, the red that was starting to pool through Arthur’s thin shirt was easily visible.

The sword might have been made out of air, but the wound it had made was very much real.

“No!” Merlin cried, as he caught Arthur before he hit the ground. Arthur’s sight had glazed over, his body was already going into shock. Merlin could feel the cloaked figures trying to get through his barrier, clawing at the magic with their hands. Merlin didn’t even direct a command to strengthen the barrier, the magic was as instinctive as breathing.

“Arthur,” Merlin said, searching for some sign of life. He pressed his hand against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood.

Arthur was breathing, but barely.

“You’re not allowed to die,” Merlin whispered. He shut his eyes as a tear trickled down his cheek. _I’m supposed to be a_ powerful _magician;_ Merlin thought angrily, _I’m supposed to protect Arthur. What use am I if I can’t even save his life?_

Then he felt something change.

A tiny trickle of magic flowed through Merlin. He wouldn’t have thought something of it, if he hadn’t felt the amount of power surging in that trickle, fighting its way free.

Merlin froze as he felt the trickle grow into a stream, as if this new found power had been released from behind a mental dam of fear that Merlin had subconsciously built up around it. Soon, the steam became a torrent, and the torrent became a flood. Merlin gasped at the sheer _volume_ of power he held within him, a power that was raw and new.

Power to save a life.

Merlin opened his eyes, seeing Arthur’s weak form lying in his arms. However, this time he could _see_ Arthur’s life force hovering around the body of the Prince as he fought for his life. Hundreds of colours swirled together, like thousands of dancing fireflies weaving in and out of one another.

Merlin didn’t know _how_ he could save Arthur’s life, but he knew that he _could_.

The magic rose out of Merlin’s skin, twisting and turning down his wrist like a snake. It curled around Merlin’s hand, spreading onto Arthur’s arm where Merlin held onto Arthur’s hand for dear life.

The golden strand became wider, as more, untainted, wild magic flowed out of Merlin and onto Arthur. It slid across Arthur’s collarbone, and down his torso, down towards where the fatal wound was. As it did so, it began to split off into smaller strands, like a river flowing across a delta. Soon Arthur was covered in a network of pulsating magic, like a golden spider’s web that was carefully woven across him.

A part of Merlin’s subconscious felt the shield fall behind him as Merlin poured all of his magic into the spell.

“ _Aleofae_ ” Merlin said, his eyes flashing gold.

The golden web suddenly was absorbed into Arthur, sending its magic through the dying Prince’s body, healing it under Merlin’s command. Merlin watched as Arthur’s wound healed up, the skin knitting back together again until there was no trace of the wound left.

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered. The prince opened his eyes slightly, smiling as soon as he saw Merlin.

“You saved my life again,” he said, trying to sit up and wincing as he did so.

“Try not to get killed again,” Merlin said, breaking into a smile as well, “it doesn’t do good for my blood pressure.”

 _He’s alive,_ Merlin thought. The relief spread through his body like a soothing ointment, taking away the burning panic that had engulfed him moments before.

“Merlin!” Arthur said, eyes looking at something over Merlin’s shoulder.

Merlin turned, hand held up as he flung a spell towards the approaching mass of black cloaks. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a pulse of power towards the black robes, flinging them a good couple of meters away from him and Arthur.

However, they then started to stand up again.

“Any more like that?” Arthur asked Merlin.

“They are like nothing I’ve seen or read about before,” Merlin said, “I don’t just _know._ ”

“But how did you just save my life?” Arthur asked, “you must have known how to do that.”

 _You’re special,_ Merlin thought to himself. Arthur was special to Merlin, if he was honest. There would only ever be _one_ Arthur, and Merlin’s job was to protect him so that Arthur could fulfil his destiny.

“I guessed,” Merlin replied, raising his hand to send another spell in the direction of the black robes. There _had_ to be a weakness to these creatures, but Merlin couldn’t think of anything that was even remotely _similar_ to these creatures that he could try.

Suddenly, a huge stag came careering into the side of the black robed creatures, sending them flying through the air as it cleared a path with its antlers.

“They keep animals down here too?” Arthur said. Merlin gaped as the stag turned around and charged through the black robes that were starting to recover. For some reason they seemed to be affected by the stag’s physical attack as opposed to Merlin’s magical one.

“It’s James,” Lily said. Merlin almost jumped in shock as Lily came to a skidding halt next to him and Arthur.

 _“_ James?” Arthur asked, “is now a deer?”

“It’s complicated,” Lily responded, looking to Merlin, “can you do anything?”

“James seems to be doing a better job than me,” Merlin replied, as James tossed another of the black robed creatures towards the wall, kicking his back legs out behind him to hit the chest of another and sending it careering backwards.

“Magic won’t affect them,” Lily said, “they seem to be the forbearers of the Dementors, but much more powerful.”

“Protected from magical attacks,” Arthur said, slowly coming to his senses, “but not physical ones. Merlin, they must have been the ones terrorising the villages, one was rumoured to have been defeated by being set on fire but all that was left of the sorcerer was a set of bones.”

 _Physical attacks,_ Merlin thought, glancing around him at the boulders and rocks that littered the cavern, having fallen from the roof years before. Making a gesture with his hand, one of the medium sized rocks about as big of his head rose easily into the air.

“Let’s try this,” Merlin said, as he made a throwing motion towards one of the black robed creatures. The rock flew through the air as fast as a bolt out of a crossbow, crashing into the head of the creature and sending it into the side of the rock wall. It collapsed in a heap of bones and black rags.

And it stayed down.

However, now some of the black robed creatures had turned to look at who had defeated one of their fellows.

“Now you’ve got their attention,” Arthur muttered, “great.”

A blast of light flew over Merlin’s shoulder, hitting the rock wall and sending a cascade of rocks tumbling down on top of the black robed creatures. Merlin turned around to see Lily lowering her wand, determination written across her face.

“Seems to work,” Lily said, as she fired another spell from her wand to cut off a black robed creature attacking James. James tossed his head in thanks, before charging a loop around the room and skidding to a halt next to their little group.

There were ten blacked robed figures left, floating over the scattered bodies of their fellow companions. They floated out into a line, spreading their arms wide like birds of prey swooping down on their prey.

Then, out of nowhere, a huge black dog and an even larger wolf crashed through the middle of their line, teeth ripping and claws tearing as they took the cloaked creatures by surprise.

“How did they get here?” Lily muttered under her breath, as she levitated another rock and threw it at the figures. James lowered his head and charged to join the fray.

“They must have found a door like we did,” Arthur said, “what do you think Merlin?”

 _Someone wants us to be here,_ Merlin thought, lost in his own mind. He didn’t reply to Arthur, instead shutting out the noise of the fight around him and trying to focus on the magic that was flowing through the room. These creatures were a distraction, all of their party had been led back here by some sort of design to allow them to be in _this_ particular room at _this_ particular time.

“It’s a trap,” Merlin said, opening his eyes and looking around the room frantically. There was something much worse that was going on in this room, something that none of them had been watching for.

Merlin could sense it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, life has kicked the hell out of me over the past two months.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Kudos and comments are wonderful and make every word worthwhile.

It was the silence that Lily found most disconcerting.

There was a moment between the noise and quiet where she could only hear the pounding heartbeat in her chest as the adrenalin of the fight continued to flow through her body. She lowered her wand slowly, watching to make sure none of the figures rose up again.

They did not.

James clopped over towards where Lily was standing, followed by Remus and Sirius. It made sense now, and in some ways it seemed almost _logical._ Of course James and Sirius would consider going through an illegal transformation so they could keep their friend safe.

 _Peter is probably one too,_ Lily thought. The four friends were normally thick as thieves. No doubt Peter would probably want in on the action, instead of being in the safety of Hogwart’s four walls.

 _I want to go back,_ Lily thought. The longing to return home, to be safe, was almost overpowering. She wasn’t cut out for war or battle. There was already too much violence in the world without Lily adding her two sickles worth to the pot.

Something nudged her shoulder.

Lily broke out of her thoughts, as James nudged her shoulder again. Up close, Lily was sure she could see the twinkle of excitement in James’ eyes, and even the hair around his head and shoulders seemed to mimic the disorganised mess that made up James’ human hair.

“Well, at least I know where the nickname comes from,” she said to James.

James snorted.

“Is that laughter?” Lily asked, giggling “like deer laughter?”

James nudged her again. Lily couldn’t help but smile.

“What?” Lily asked.

James tossed his head.

“Can’t you just turn back so I can understand you?” Lily said, “my ‘deer’ is a little rusty”.

James gave her a pointed look that said _‘but that would take all the fun out of it’._

“I don’t believe you sometimes,” Lily said, taking her hand up and stroking James gently on his nose, brushing the soft down fur under her fingers.

James licked he hand.

“Ew,” Lily said, pulling her hand back, “just because you’re a deer does not mean you’re any more special mind, and that was very unhygienic.”

James stared at Lily.

 _Oh my Merlin, I’m talking to a deer,_ Lily thought.

“Ok fine,” Lily conceded, “you’re special. _Happy now_?”

“No.” James said.

“Merlins Beard!” Lily swore, jumping back a good foot. James grinned, brushing his messy hair in a move that was so natural David Attenborough should have considered doing a documentary on it.

“Sorry to break up the flirting,” Sirius remarked casually, making Lily jump out of her skin again, “but I think we have some explaining to do to our esteemed royal companion.”

Lily turned round to where Arthur was struggling to his feet, Merlin propping up the Prince under his shoulder. Both wore looks of shock on their faces, although Merlin’s had a hint more respect and Arthur’s had a lot more terror.

“You can turn yourself into an _animal?_ ” Arthur spluttered. For someone who was dying moments before, the Prince seemed to be recovering remarkably well.

 _He was healed by Merlin,_ she thought, _what Madame Pomfrey would give for the knowledge of that spell._

“Werewolves don’t attack animals,” Sirius stated, “and we couldn’t keep tabs on old Moony here if we didn’t do it.”

Sirius patted Remus’ huge wolf head. Remus growled.

Arthur paled.

“But we’re safe?” Arthur said.

“It was wolfsbane,” Sirius said, “fortunately for us we have someone on our side.”

“That isn’t going to help us much now,” Merlin said.

James twisted around to make a pointed gesture towards the black cloaks that lay on the floor.

“They’re pretty much dealt with,” James remarked.

 _He is insufferable,_ Lily thought, glaring at James. One did not talk like that to _Merlin_ of all people. It just wasn’t done.

Plus she wanted to get home, and whilst she might not know much about being stranded in the past, she did know not to piss of the one person who could help them actually _get_ home.

“Not them,” Merlin said, “there was a reason we were all brought here. It’s too much to be coincidence.”

“So someone is playing with us?” Sirius said, “watching us run around like mice whilst they laugh at how futile our efforts are?”

Merlin nodded.

“Great,” Sirius huffed, “I thought this was too easy.”

“Things,” a feminine voice said from the other side of the cavern, “are never easy.”

 _Cassandra?_ Lily thought, recognising the voice. She turned, as did the rest of the group, to see the wall shimmer brightly behind Cassandra as she stepped into the cavern. She wore the same robe, with the same rope around the middle, apart from this time she did not wear the bandage around her eyes.

Lily raised her wand, as did the other three Maruanders. Her heart beat heavily in her chest, this woman had such malice in her tone that it set alarm bells off in Lily’s mind.

“Who are you?” Merlin asked.

“Many things,” the woman said, with a smile.

 _It’s not the same person,_ Lily thought. The woman might look identical to Cassandra, but her voice had a totally different lilt to it. After spending her entire term studying ancient English in all of its various inflections for her final Charms essay last year, Lily could hear the different stresses in the woman’s voice. Subtle enough that if you weren’t looking for it you wouldn’t notice it, but it was there none the less.

“I see you beat the guards,” the woman said, waving her hand towards the crumpled and charred cloaks that lay about the place. She took a step towards the group, her heel sending a loud _clack_ across the otherwise silent cavern.

Remus growled.

“Oh, I don’t think a little dog like you would scare me off,” the woman said, smiling coldly at Remus.

“That’s because you’re not exactly scary yourself,” Sirius said defensively.

“Really?” the woman remarked, “I wouldn’t bet on that.” The way she smiled reminded Lily of the way a wolf would bare its teeth at its prey.

“Wouldn’t you now?” Arthur asked, raising his sword towards the woman, “You wouldn’t threaten us – you helped use _escape_ in the first place.”

“That wasn’t me,” the woman spat, tapping her temple, “there are two of us in here. There is the one who held you escape is trapped deep within and she isn’t going to help you. Currently _I’m_ the one controlling the party, and I do not really care for any of you existing for longer than the span of my entertainment.”

“So if you are not Cassandra, what do you call yourself?” Merlin said. It was amazing, Lily thought, how such a small man could sound so commanding and yet Merlin did manage it. The woman looked like she had just been slapped in the face.

“You feel the need to ask that question Emrys?” the woman asked.

“You know my name,” Merlin replied coolly, “It is only fair I know yours.”

“You are the supposed Emrys; the one that the Druid’s prophesised about. You might be a mere blip in the face of existence but the Druids cannot _stop talking_ about their precious little Emrys. I only had to open my ears and I could hear your name singing in the sound of the wind,” the woman spat, her contempt clear.

 _Great,_ Lily thought, _jealous of Merlin’s fame as well. This cannot end well._

“So who the hell are you then?” James asked, “because at the moment you remind me of a twelve year old child whose just lost their chocolate frog card collection.”

 _Excellent James,_ Lily thought, _just antagonise the woman whose holding us all hostage._

“Call me.... _Medusa_ ,” Medusa said, with a smile. As her name was uttered from her lips, Medusa’s blonde hair began to change, morphing together into wider strands that began to move by themselves. The strands became scaled, and eyes began to form, as her hair became a mass of withering snakes.

“I quite like them, don’t you?” Medusa said, stroking one of the snakes affectionately as it hissed and flicked its forked tongue in and out of its mouth, “but don’t worry, I can’t turn you into stone. If I could do that, I would have done it already.”

“I’m so comforted,” Sirius said.

“I am _so_ much more powerful than any of you,” Medusa said, “see, whilst your friend Merlin here can wield magic, I _am_ magic. I wasn’t born of humanity; I was born of the Old Religion. In fact, I _am_ the Old Religion.”

“So why bring us here?” Merlin asked, “if you’re so powerful?”

“Because I’m here to prepare you,” Medusa said, waving her had with a flourish.

Lily screamed as she found her arms slammed tight against her body in a spell that was like _rigor mortis,_ apart from it was only her arms and legs couldn’t move.

Then the world spun as she was sent hurtling towards the back of the cavern wall, stopping mere inches from the wall itself. She shook her head to try and clear her dizzy head, finding that she was floating a good few feet above the floor.

Merlin and Arthur were still standing in the centre of the room.

“That bloody hurt,” Sirius groaned next to her. Remus had some sort of muzzle over his nose, attached the wall below them with an invisible lead that kept him firmly in place even though he tried to strain against it.

“You don’t say,” James remarked next to Lily, “I don’t know why she’s so pissed off with us.”

“I don’t think she’s pissed,” Lily said, “she wants us out of the way. Look.”

Lily nodded towards Merlin and Arthur, who Lily assumed were also glued in place by a similar spell as otherwise they would have tried to start a fight with Medusa. In front of Medusa, the air began to shimmer brightly, as the light spiralled outwards to leave a pool of darkness that filled Lily with immense dread.

A figure stepped out of the blackness. No, the blackness _moulded_ to become the figure. It was a person, a person whose magic was so dark and dreadful Lily could not help feel totally and utterly vulnerable.

 _Please don’t let me die,_ Lily thought.

“Who are you?” Lily heard Arthur ask. She could hear the tremor in his voice, if the creature could have such an effect on Lily a good 100 feet away, then Arthur and Merlin would be having it far worse.

“My name,” the creature said, its voice thick as oil, “is Moray.”

x-x-x

Arthur felt like he wanted to die.

Everything good had gone in an instant. The creature had sucked every happy thought from Arthur’s very soul, leaving him only with the dark place that haunted his nightmares.

 _You won’t get out alive,_ Arthur’s thoughts whispered.

“Who are you?” Arthur asked.

 _Why bother?_ His thoughts whispered, _you’re all going to die._

“My name,” the creature said, his voice making Arthur tremble with despair, “is Moray.”

The creature, Moray, smiled. It was vaguely humanoid in form, and had a male sounding voice. However, Arthur was tentative to call anything that could call such despair _human._ It was a creature of evil, a creature of magic.

 _Like Merlin,_ his voice said, _how long before he betrays you? You can’t trust him you know. You can’t trust anyone. You’ll be alone with nothing. Isn’t that what you want?_

“What do you want with us?” Arthur asked.

“Why ask me?” Moray said, “ask her.”

He pointed his hand at Medusa, causing her to scream in either pain or rage, Arthur was not sure. She fell to her knees, hands clawing at her face, whilst her snakes fell lifeless, turning into blonde hair once more.

Then, whilst her screams where still echoing around the chamber, Medusa fell silent.

“Well,” Moray said, “tell them.”

“You have no power over me,” Medusa said, standing up once more. She kept her hand firmly clamped over her eyes, back tall, resilient against Moray’s command.

 _Not Medusa,_ Arthur thought, _Cassandra._

“Tell them,” Moray hissed, “or I will make your skin hotter than the fires of hell.”

Cassandra stiffened at the threat. Moray raised his hand just slightly, finger poised to cast the spell.

“Tell them why you need to cover your eyes,” Moray commanded.

“Because the sense of sight allows _her_ to take control,” Cassandra whispered, “she can take control of my body when she sees the world.”

“Your body?” Merlin asked, sounding far more in control of himself than Arthur felt “how can there be two of you in your body?”

“Yes, my body,” Cassandra repeated, “I’m the original owner of this body.”

“Tell them who Medusa is,” Moray said, “tell them where she came from, Cassandra.”

“My father practised magic,” Cassandra began, her voice wobbling, “and he didn’t tell my mother. She had no idea what he really did, but she thought she was lucky enough to have a husband who gave her a roof over her head so she didn’t really care.

“My brother, who is a few years older than me, was born just after they got married. My father was part of a sect that believed magic could only be wielded by males, and so taught my brother all his knowledge, allowing him to practise magic as well. Then the problems started when I was born.”

“And you caused your mother to die, didn’t you Cassandra?” Moray said.

“My mother died in childbirth,” Cassandra hissed in reply, “my _father_ blamed me instead of understanding the nature of life is that sometimes, people die.”

Moray hissed. Arthur didn’t miss the fact that Cassandra spit the word _father_ out like it was poison.

 _Your father would probably be so disappointed in you right now,_ Arthur’s thoughts whispered, _such a disappointment. Always were. Always will be._

“Tell them where Medusa came from, Cassandra,” Moray whispered darkly, “or I will make you tell it.”

“I was an inquisitive child,” Cassandra continued, smirking slightly despite her clear terror, “and one day I found one of my brother’s spell books. He, being a loving older brother, decided that I too needed to learn magic. He respected it, and unlike my father, thought that everyone should have a chance to learn to respect its power and majesty.

“He taught me for two years before my father found out. My father, believing that only men should be allowed to wield magic, tried to remove the knowledge of magic from me. My brother tried to defend me. He died doing so.”

“He died protecting an unworthy cause,” Moray spat.

“My father locked away my knowledge of magic with a spell that I didn’t know, making me unable to access that knowledge, and practise magic,” Cassandra continued, ignoring Moray, “after a while, he went mad, driven mad as he tried to perform, darker and more powerful magic than he could handle. It ate away at his soul, at his humanity. He descended into madness, and became a creature instead of human.”

“I am HUMAN,” Moray roared at Cassandra.

“You’re nothing more than Medusa,” Cassandra spat, “magic has warped your very soul and there is nothing of the man who I considered my father left in you.”

Moray snarled.

“Medusa is the reason why you are here,” Moray span around at Arthur, red lips curling on his pale face in a sneer, “your father culled those with magic and forced us into hiding. This is what you family created.”

“Arthur did not create Medusa,” Merlin argued, “you did that. If you have any understanding of magic you would know that it _cannot_ be stopped. You can’t just put a barrier up against it, it must flow or it will make its own way to flow.”

 _Medusa,_ Arthur thought, eyes widening in realisation, _its Cassandra’s magic, it turned into an alternate personality._

“I did nothing!” Moray said, swinging his hand out towards Cassandra. She screamed, dropping her hand from her face and throwing her head back violently. Her whole body shook, as her blonde hair became snakes once more.

Medusa lowered her head a smiled evilly at Arthur and Merlin.

“Hello again,” she whispered menacingly, “miss me?”

“You’re the one whose been attacking the villages,” Arthur said, “why? What are you wanting to achieve? Because I will not let-”

“Won’t let me do what, boy?” Moray said, smirking. He strode, no _glided,_ over to where Arthur was frozen in place by whatever spell Medusa had used, standing mere inches from Arthur’s face.

The thoughts inside Arthur’s head became even darker.

_You’re useless._

_You’re pathetic._

_No one cares about you._

_You will fail._

_You’re better off dead._

“You feel them?” Moray whispered, “the thoughts inside your skull? A side effect of the magic I have learnt, it draws upon the true depths of a person’s soul to show them how they _really_ are.

Arthur couldn’t reply, the thoughts inside his head were too much to try and concentrate on forming words.

_Why bother._

_You killed your mother._

_You’re going to fail as a ruler._

_Merlin will leave you like everyone else has._

_You will be no one._

_You will be nothing._

_Your legacy will be lost._

_You will be forgotten._

“Stop it,” Arthur heard Merlin threaten.

Moray laughed, spinning away from Arthur.

“You think I will stop?” Moray shouted, pointing at Arthur, “his _father_ never stopped murdering those who wielded magic.”

Arthur’s thoughts became more oppressive. He could _feel_ the despair clawing at his skin, bubbling up from the dark place inside him that he normally had so much control over.

Not today. Not with this monster.

“He was trying to protect the land,” Arthur said through gritted teeth.

“He killed my son,” Moray said, looking at Medusa, “if Uther had not forced us into hiding, then my son wouldn’t have been so foolhardy to create such an _abomination_.”

Medusa’s smile was one of death.

“You killed your son,” Arthur said, “my father had no part to play-”

“You father _always_ had a part to play,” Moray spat, snarling, “where there was _death_ there was Uther. Your father has the blood of the innocent on his hands boy, and if he cannot learn then I will have to teach you that lesson.”

Moray held his hand up in front of him, muttering in a language that Arthur didn’t recognise. He glanced over at Merlin, whose face was pale and drawn in fear.

 _He recognises the words,_ Arthur thought.

Moray stopped muttering, pausing for a moment to allow silence to fall over the cavern once more.

Arthur braced himself.

Moray threw the spell, however, not towards Arthur and Merlin, but towards the wall where Remus, Lily, Sirius and James  were tied up.

Arthur watched helplessly as the spell tumbled through the air towards the four friends. Merlin screamed in defiance, shouting a wordless spell of magic towards Moray’s spell.

It didn’t stop it.

The spell barrelled into the four friends, warping the wall behind them into a doorway.

A flash of light burst through the cavern. Arthur forced himself to look away for the briefest moment, saving his sight.

When he turned back, they were gone.

x-x-x

Sirius decided that if any more magical doors appeared in Hogwarts that weren’t on the map, he would ignore them.

It was a good decision, he thought. His whole body ached, his head was spinning, and best of all some magician from the middle ages had just thrown him through a wall.

 _This sucks,_ he thought, pushing himself up from the floor.

Whatever spell Moray had used to throw them through the wall into another area of the caves had reversed Medusa’s entrapment spell. But whether that was a good thing or not, Sirius was not sure. Moray seemed to be the type of character who would want his prey running around whilst he chased it, like a cat would with a mouse.

“Is everyone okay?” James asked.

“Bruised a bit,” Sirius replied, dusting his robes off and flicking his wand with an unspoken _lumos_ spell. The light lit up James’ grimace, and Lily’s murderous glare.

“I’ll live,” Lily remarked.

Remus barked.

“I’ll take that as Moony is okay,” James said.

“Where are we?” Lily asked, lighting up the end of her wand.

Something on Sirius’ left caught his attention. He turned, holding his wand out in front of him.

Nothing.

“Must be another part of the cave system,” James replied to Lily, “Moray is trying to throw us off, after all without a guide we have no idea where these caves lead to.”

The noise caught Sirius’ attention again. It wasn’t _much_ of a noise, but enough to worry him.

 _What is that?_ Sirius thought.

“Sirius,” Lily said, “what are you looking at?”

“Can you hear that noise?” Sirius said, point his wand, “it came from over there.”

Remus growled.

“What is it Moony?” James said.

Remus growled again. This time, Sirius noticed what Remus was trying to say.

_Run._

A rumble came from above their group. Sirius looked up to see seven beady heads looking down on them, teeth glinting white in the light of the _lumos_ spell.

 _Moray didn’t send us away,_ Sirius thought, _he sent us to die._

The Hydra above them roared.

x-x-x

“Where did you send them?” Merlin shouted.

Moray laughed.

“Such concern,” he remarked, “it’s almost endearing, Emrys.”

 Merlin curled his hands into fists. Whatever spell Medusa had used to stop Arthur and he from moving, it was _powerful._ Merlin had been trying to break out of the bindings ever since he had been put in them, but he couldn’t work out where the weak spot was.

 _I have to protect Arthur,_ Merlin thought.

“Frustrated?” Moray sneered, flicking his wrist at Merlin.

Merlin didn’t have time to react as an invisible shockwave catapulted him across to the other side of the room, away from Arthur. The world spun, as Merlin scrabbled together a cushioning spell from his memory to catch him before he plummeted down into the rocky floor.

“I thought you would be better than this,” Moray cackled mockingly, “the Druids spoke so _highly_ of you, yet you’re such a disappointment.”

Merlin staggered to his feet. The anger was hot in his veins, burning through him as his magic bubbled to the surface. He did not take his eyes of Moray, nor the distance Moray was to Arthur.

“Where did my friends go?” Merlin said, flicking a simple shock spell towards Moray. The gesture was simple, but Merlin had tried this spell on an unsuspecting dummy in the training yards and had managed to set it on fire with the strength of the lighting that would arch from his fingers.

Moray, however, batted the spell away without even moving his hands.

Then, out of nowhere, a flurry of spells flew towards Merlin. Merlin could barely keep track of them all, as they were laced together like a fine embroidery thread, twirling within one another to form a single spear of light that shot through the air.

“ _Helian!_ ” Merlin cried, throwing up a shield of magic around him.

The force of Moray’s spell’s impact was enough to knock Merlin back a foot, and almost unbalanced him. Merlin lent forward, pushing against the force as he forced more and more magic into the simple spell. The air crackled around him, as the shield danced with bright green light.

“I thought you would be _better_ than this _Emrys_ ,” Moryaty taunted. Merlin growled, eyes ablaze with gold.

“You don’t even know me,” Merlin shouted back.

“Oh I _know you enough_ ,” Moryaty spat. This time, Moray’s assault was not with spells, but with rocks.

 _Easy enough,_ Merlin thought. With a flick of his hand, the rocks disintegrated to dust.

Merlin had never held this amount of power before, not all at once. It coursed through him, driving through his heart and to his hands as it forced its way into the realm of the living. Merlin could feel his fingertips tingle with the force of the raw magic that lay behind his skin, waiting to be thrown into a spell.

“You work for the _King_ ,” Moryaty said, “Stupid _Uther_. You know how he treats us? Like _dirt._ ”

“I’d much rather be treated as dirt than go against him,” Merlin replied, raising his chin in defiance, “Uther may be misguided but he is your ruler.”

“He may be,” Moryaty hissed, “but I can strike him in his _heart_. He killed my son, I shall kill his.”

 _Not Arthur,_ Merlin thought.

Merlin’s spell was instinctive. He might not know the specifics of Medusa’s spell but he could recognise the basic building blocks of the spell to direct the magic to take the right form.

The spell hit Moray with the force of a horse, sending him flying backwards and towards the wall. Medusa screeched, throwing a spell at Merlin, but he merely stepped out of its path and threw Medusa into the same bindings he had used against Moray.

“Let us go and we will not harm you,” Merlin said. He was not a killer. He would give Moray a chance to let them leave, in return for his life in prison.

Moray stood up, breaking Merlin’s spell with ease. However, in his anger Merlin noticed that the spell also broke through Arthur’s bindings, who instantly fell into a fighting stance, sword held in front of him and crouched ready to pounce.

“You are not going _anywhere_ ,” Moray hissed, as a black substance ooze from the pores of Moray’s skin, cloaking him in a black fog. Arthur backed off, sword held high, towards where Merlin was standing. Merlin readied another shield around Arthur, ready to snap the spell into position in case Moray went for the Prince.

“You _see what I can do_?” Moray said, his voice growing huskier and deeper. The mist swirled around him, covering Moray’s from head to toe, whilst Moray’s eyes changed to a deep, pulsating red.

“You _see_ what I have become?” Moray said, raising his hands upwards and cackling. The man was invoking a far darker magic than anything he had shown before, a darkness that made Merlin’s skin crawl with disgust.

Then, Merlin’s thoughts turned to despair.

_I’m going to die._

He felt the thought drum through his entire body. It was as if he was sinking, the world closing around him, choking him with the thought that there was no hope.

_No one will care if you die._

_No one loves you._

_No one accepts you._

_No,_ Merlin thought through the cloud of darkness that clouded his mind, _Arthur accepted me for who I was._

It was a spark of happiness which shone like a beacon in the darkness, and Merlin held onto it like a dying man gripped onto life. He let the happiness seep into him, driving away the darkness.

As he did so, Merlin felt the magic inside him stir slightly, as he subconsciously formed a spell in his mind. Raising his hand defiantly, Merlin spoke what his heart told him to speak;

 _“Abide_ _ðu ámundae patronum.”_

A white light emerged from his hand, twisting and turning into a shape. The shape solidified into a falcon, which winged its way through the air, leaving a bright trail of light behind it. It glided gracefully towards Moray, who screamed in pain as the bird closed in on him.

The bird answered with its own call, a high pitch screech that echoed off the walls of the caverns, as it swooped down towards Moray with its talons bared. As it touched Moray, the falcon’s form shifted, enveloping him in a white light. Moray’s screams were muffled by the magic that wrapped around him.

There was no escape.

Merlin fed more magic into the spell, watching as it crushed Moray from all directions.  The glowing mass become smaller and smaller, until it disappeared from vision completely.

Silence fell in the cave.

Suddenly, a bright white light exploded outwards. Merlin staged back, holding his arm up to protect his eyes. However, just as fast as it had appeared, the light faded into nothing. Merlin blinked furiously, trying to allow his eyes to adjust from the bright white light that had been there moments before.

“NO!” Medusa cried, as she flung herself towards the place where Moray had once stood. The explosion of magic in the cavern had washed away any of the other magic in the room, including her bindings.

“You killed him,” she spat towards Merlin, “you _killed him_!” She stalked towards Merlin, raising her hand as she began to mutter a complex incantation that Merlin did not recognise.

However, before she could utter the final words of the spell, a sword slid through her stomach.

She looked down, confusion crossing her face as the sword was withdrawn in one fluid motion. Clutching her stomach, she fell to her knees, revealing Arthur holding a bloodied sword with the deathly look of a soldier on his face.

An almighty crack in the ceiling above caused Merlin to jump. He looked up to see the ceiling of the cavern covered in cracks, like a smashed windowpane which was aching to shatter.

He ran towards where Medusa lay on the floor.

“Take us to them,” Merlin hissed at Medusa, falling to his knees next to the dying creature.

“No,” Medusa spat, “if you want me to die, then you can die with me.”

“Take us to them,” Merlin said darkly. He readied a spell, a dark spell, one which would make any reasonable human tell Merlin anything he wished to know.

Medusa laughed.

“I’m going to die,” Medusa said, “there is nothing you can threaten me with.”

Then, Medusa gasped as one of her hands flung out to the side like it was being controlled by an invisible string.

“No,” Medusa screamed wildly. Medusa’s hand waved in the air, creating a green slit, a doorway to where the other four students had been sent by Moray.

“Thank you,” Arthur said, sheathing his sword.

 _Always so noble,_ Merlin thought.

“It wasn’t me,” Medusa spat back at Arthur.

“Thank you, Cassandra,” Merlin said, standing up. The ceiling groaned above, ready to fall on them at any moment.

Medusa smirked, but Merlin knew Cassandra would hear him.

Arthur stepped through the doorway first, followed by Merlin. He glanced back through the doorway as it shut, just enough to see the ceiling begin to fall on top of Medusa.

 _Thank you, Cassandra,_ Merlin thought, _I will not forget this._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment or leave kudos on this story! I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

“What the-” Arthur exclaimed as he and Merlin stepped through the doorway. Merlin felt the air suck backwards, as the doorway slammed shut behind them, silencing the echoes of the falling roof with it.

In front of them was a huge, scaly tail, which was connected to yet a larger body.

And if the creature wasn’t already horrific enough, it also had seven heads.

 _Oh gods,_ Arthur thought, as he saw the three wizards and the wolf huddling behind some magical barrier a few hundred meters away.

Arthur drew his sword slowly.

“Don’t attack it!” Merlin hissed, hands held in front of him, glowing slightly. It was still a strange sight to see Merlin wielding magic with such ease and grace, but in some ways, it made _sense._

“Why not?” Arthur replied, as he slowly began to creep towards where the wizards were standing. The creature was staring intently at the wizards, and not at Merlin and him.

“It’s a Hydra ut off a head and two more will grow back,” Merlin replied. The stupid idiot almost sounded amazed at the horrific creature before them.

“We don’t have to hack at the heads,” Arthur said, “just incapacitate it so we can get out of here.”

 _If there is a way to escape,_ Arthur thought.

“Exactly where are you planning?” Merlin said, “you can’t fight you way out of this one, Arthur.”

“What alternative do you have planned?”

The cave shuddered.

“What was _that_?” James shouted.

Even one of the Hydra heads whipped around towards the noise, which seemed to be coming from somewhere behind it.

“The cave,” Merlin said, looking towards the ceiling.

Arthur acted on instinct, pulling Merlin with him and diving behind the magical barrier that the wizards from the future had created.

A huge bolder tumbled down from the ceiling above, crashing into the floor.

“This is not good,” Arthur said as he pulled himself to his feet. His shoulder twinged, landing on his side had been a stupid thing to do but at least Merlin hadn’t been crushed by a rock.

“You alright?” Sirius asked.

“I’m fine,” Arthur replied, “Merlin?”

“Pride is a bit dented,” Merlin said, with his ever present smile, “but otherwise I’ll live.”

Another rock fell from the ceiling, this one hitting the Hydra’s back. It roared, a deafening sound that made Arthur’s ears burn in pain.

“It must have got in here somehow,” James shouted over the clamour, “there has to be a way out.”

“Moray would have brought it here,” Arthur said, wincing as another rock plummeted from the ceiling, “through one of the magic doors.”

“Great,” James said, “Merlin can you open one?”

Arthur looked at Merlin hopefully, who looked at the ceiling thoughtfully.

“I could do something different,” Merlin suggested, “if we blast our way out of here? Then we can scale the wall to the top.”

“Will we be able to see out?” Lily asked, “see the top?”

“I don’t see why not,” Merlin said.

“We can apparate,” Lily said.

“Appa-what?” Arthur asked. Sometimes he thought that these wizards failed to remember that he didn’t know anything about magic.

Thankfully, Merlin looked also confused.

“Just do it,” Lily said, “explain later.”

Merlin nodded, glancing up at the ceiling and muttering under his breath. His eyes flashed gold, as he stepped out to the side of the protective barrier and fired a bright white light up to the ceiling.

And through a hydra’s head.

“Oh gods,” Arthur said, as the huge head came crashing down to the floor. The other six heads swivelled towards Merlin, roaring loudly in pain and anger.

Arthur looked on in horror as the headless neck continued to writher and squirm, before it began to split down the middle. Scales shifted around the muscle and bone as the one neck became two. Then the necks grew longer, the bone first, followed by the muscle and scales, expanding outwards into a head. Teeth came out of the jaw bone whilst the eyes formed in the sockets. In a few seconds, what had been one head had just turned into two heads; and neither of the new heads looked like they were going to play nice.

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted.

Merlin shot another bolt of white light up towards the ceiling, this time hitting the same spot. The rock cracked loudly, before being blasted outwards as if it had been hit upwards by a huge hand of a god.

Above the clamour of the destruction, Arthur could just about see the glimmer of darkness. Fresh air rushed downwards, with the falling remains of the ceiling.

 _It is almost beautiful,_ Arthur thought, _what magic can do._

A hand grabbed his wrist.

“MERLIN GET OVER HERE!” Lily shouted, as she grabbed James’ hand as well. Sirius dived around Remus’ before disappearing with a _pop._

“Where did he go?” Arthur asked, as Merlin dived behind the protective barrier and grabbed onto Arthur.

“You’re about to find out,” Lily said.

Arthur felt himself plummeting backwards by an invisible force, as the world around him twisted in front of his eyes. He barely had time to scream out in shock, as he felt his body being pummelled and pushed and squashed-

Then he was standing on grass, with the stars above him.

“What on earth was that?” Arthur said, as he staggered to one side. He felt distinctly unwell.

They stood on the edge of a forest, a few feet away from the hole in the ground that Merlin had created. Around them, rocks and boulders were scattered, trees splintered, and earth turned by the force of the blast Merlin had used.

The Hydra roared below, still sounding as terrifying as it had been when they had been underground.

“Apparition,” Lily said, as she peered down the hole. Arthur shuffled to the edge to take a look, he could barely make out the shifting mass of the Hydra below.

“What?” Arthur asked.

“It’s how we move,” Sirius said, as he _popped_ out of existence next to Arthur.

“GODS!” Arthur yelped, jumping back a good foot. Merlin giggled, Sirius wore a huge grin on his face.

“You can move through the air?” Arthur said, looking at Merlin, “with magic?”

“I haven’t heard of anything like this,” Merlin shook his head, “only portals.”

 _“Only_ portals?!” Arthur exclaimed.

Merlin offered an apologetic smile.

Arthur shook his head.

“This is just,” he stuttered, looking at the four magicians and werewolf in turn, accompanied by the roar of the Hydra below.

 _Brave new world,_ he thought.

“We need somewhere to sleep for the night,” Arthur said, glancing at the stars to get his bearing. If they walked north from here for a while they should make it to the clearing that Arthur had stayed in before on one of his patrols. That would do.

“Any ideas?” Lily asked.

“Follow me,” Arthur replied, turning into the woods and striding off. He tried to hide his wobbly legs, and the fear that was bubbling away in side of him.

 _I need to sleep,_ Arthur thought, _then I have to think about how I deal with Father. And the future of Camelot._

x-x-x

 Merlin threw another stick into the woods, watching it tumble through the air before it fell into the undergrowth  below.

He needed time to think, and to do that he needed peace and quiet. Here, the mumble of the camp talk was barely audible against the sound of the wind rustling through the trees around him. There were even a few birds chirping, and an owl hooting, harmonising the natural night-time sounds into a relaxing tune.

A few balls of light bobbed in front of him, barely enough to light up the forest around him but light enough so that he could see his footing.

 _I can’t stay_ , Merlin thought gloomily to himself, _I can’t put Arthur through any more_.

Arthur had barely said a word to Merlin as they had set up their camp. In truth, he had barely said any words to _anyone,_ which whilst Merlin knew that Arthur was stubborn he always knew when something was bothering the Prince.

Now they were out of Moray’s grasp, it was as if Arthur was able to fully take _in_ what had happened.  Merlin could see it written all over Arthur’s face, the way he winced whenever James or Lily had lit the fire, and _especially_ when Remus had disappeared off into the forest and come back a few hours later a very cold, very forlorn looking boy.

If he went back to Camelot, with Arthur knowing about his magic, Arthur would have to go against his father’s wishes. It would put Arthur in a position which tore his priorities, one way his father, the other the knowledge that Merlin was a Warlock.

 _I can’t do that to him,_ Merlin thought, _that is not my right._

He picked up another twig from the ground, and angrily threw it at into the undergrowth. It didn’t help with the anger much, but at least he could try.

_Where can I go?_

An angry tear fell down Merlin’s cheek. He was frustrated with himself, for being magic, with Uther for banning magic, and with Arthur for being a noble clot-pole.

He focussed on the orbs of light, turning them around with a gentle gesture of his hand. The lights spun around in front of him, casting shadows across the forest scenery around him.

“ _Heofoncandel,_ ” Merlin muttered under his breath, his voice hitching slightly as another tear fell. The orbs began to split, each one becoming smaller and smaller until there were hundreds of orbs hanging in the darkness, so small that they looked like the stars in the heavens above.

This was one of Merlin’s favourite spells, one he had created as a child. He would creep out of the house late at night and look up in the sky to see the shapes he could make out in the stars. When the clouds covered his view, he simply made his own stars, watching the magic dart about like fireflies.

“Why so sorry Merlin?” a voice said to his left.

Merlin turned in shock, to see where the voice was coming from.  A figure stepped out from the woods, glowing with the gentle magic of the Earth herself, turning into a face that Merlin remembered well.

“Freya,” he whispered.

He let go of his spell gently, allowing the glowing lights to fall away into the darkness. In the darkness, he could see each detail of Freya’s smile, the smile that had captured his heart when Freya had been alive. She stepped over the forest floor like a fairy, her magical white light spilling across the forest floor.

She stopped mere inches away from Merlin, looking deep into his eyes.

 _Freya,_ he thought. He could feel his heart leap in longing, even though he knew that Freya was gone.

“You’re dead,” Merlin whispered. Even speaking it made his breath clench. Her death had been on _his_ hands, her life had been his to protect.

 _I can’t cope with all of this,_ Merlin thought, glancing over his shoulder towards where the camp lay.

“Yes,” Freya replied, gently turning Merlin’s head back towards her. She was smiling her gentle smile, the one which spoke of such life and love, one which no words or memory could capture.

“But-” Merlin began.

“The dead are never truly gone Merlin,” Freya said, gently wiping away a tear from Merlin’s cheek with her thumb, “we are always there to watch over you. Look inside your heart and you’ll find me.”

“I don’t understand,” Merlin said.

“You don’t need to Merlin,” Freya replied, “some things we are not meant to understand. Sometimes we just have to accept the way things are, not why they are there.”

“How?” Merlin asked, “how can I just accept it? The world has gone wrong, I’m no longer safe in the one place I can call home-”

Freya placed her fingers on Merlin’s lips.

“Promise me something,” she said

“What?” Merlin asked..

“Give him a chance,” Freya said, eyes flicking to the path behind Merlin, “follow your heart, not your head.”

“I will,” Merlin said.

“Merlin!” Arthur said, making Merlin jump in fright as he turned around, “are you looking for wood? You could try this twig here.”

Arthur bent down and picked up a stick from the forest floor and waved it in front of Merlin’s face.

“I was thinking,” Merlin said, turning around to where Freya had been standing mere moments before.

The forest was empty.

_Promise me._

Freya’s words echoed through Merlin’s head. And ghostly spectre or no, Merlin knew that she was right. Logic told him that he couldn’t return to Camelot.

But his heart had faith in Arthur, and his heart told him there could  be a way.

“About what?” Arthur asked, peering over Merlin’s shoulder to where Merlin was looking

“Nothing.”

“Merlin,” Arthur said, looking in a very matter of fact I’m-going-to-be-king-one-day-so-I-know-what-I’m-talking-about looks, “that’s something you tell _me_ when I’m being particularly vacant. You must have been thinking about _something.”_

Merlin shrugged his shoulders.

 _I can’t,_ he thought, as he could feel the anxiety rising. The thought of not being able to return home was terrifying, the fact that Arthur could put his entire _reputation_ on the line for Merlin was something else entirely.

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

Merlin screwed up his face, trying to avoid Arthur’s gaze. However, Arthur didn’t waiver, he simply bore into Merlin with his royal blue eyes.

“I can’t go back to Camelot,” Merlin said in one breath.

“What?” Arthur asked.

“I can’t go back,” Merlin said, “not after you know, _this._ It wouldn’t be sensible. It wouldn’t even _work._ You would have to lie to your Father, and, well, look, I can’t put you in a position where-”

“Merlin,”

_It’s not fair on him._

“You are pushed between your Father and me. I just can’t do it; it’s not fair when you’re trying to lead, you’re the _crown prince of Camelot_ and it’s not like you can just put that all on the line for me, it’s not fair to you-”

“ _MERLIN!”_ Arthur shouted forcefully, grasping hold of Merlin’s shoulders and shaking him

“But I-” Merlin started.

_I can’t go back, I can’t._

“Just wait,” Arthur said forcefully, “you are saying that you can’t go back to Camelot because doing so would put me in a position where I would have to go against my father’s views?”

Merlin held his breath, and nodded once. Sharply.

“Well,” Arthur said, “as a Prince, I would have to support you on that view. Obviously the Kingdom is more important that my views.”

 _Oh gods, I can’t go back,_ Merlin thought, shutting his eyes as the despair began to well up inside of him. What would Gauis think? What would his mother think? Where would he go? He would have to go somewhere into the outer regions, far away from Camelot. Maybe one of the Druid camps would take him in as a healer-

“As a friend,” Arthur said, shaking Merlin again, “I would have to say that if you leave Camelot, I would come with you.”

_What?_

“But you’re the Prince!” Merlin spluttered, “you can’t _leave_ Camelot.”

“Well then, it looks like you’re not going to either,” Arthur said, giving Merlin another shake, “because there is _no way_ I am going to let you leave Camelot because you’re trying to help me. For _once_ Merlin think of _yourself_ and not _others_. I can make my own decisions, and there is no point trying to make those decisions for me.”

“But-” Merlin tried to protest.

“No ‘buts’ Merlin,” Arthur said, “I’m not allowing you to leave. End. Of.”

Merlin opened his mouth, but no words came out. He just mouthed wordlessly at Arthur, unable to take onboard what Arthur was saying.

_Promise me._

“Are you sure?”

“You think I’m not?” Arthur said, shaking Merlin again, “I’ve thought about it hard, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be a pain to have to house train another servant. Now come on Merlin, we’re not exactly going to find wood sitting here, and unless you can conjure wood with magic – which I doubt – we’re going to have to put in some legwork.”

“Arthur,” Merlin said, pushing Arthur’s hands from his shoulders, “do you mean it?”

Arthur paused for the barest moment.

“Yes,” he said, “every word.”

The relief that flooded through Merlin was palpable.

“Let’s get back,” Merlin said, “and for your information, _no_ I cannot conjure wood with magic.”

x-x-x

 “We’re off to collect some sticks.”

James looked up to see Sirius and Remus both looking at him with smirks on their faces.

 _Oh no you don’t,_ he thought.

“What?” James asked, trying to sound absent minded, “didn’t Merlin go and get some earlier?”

“And Arthur,” Sirius said, “and they haven’t come back yet.”

“Might have been eaten,” Remus suggested.

 _Oh Merlin if Moony is on it then they’re really going to leave me alone,_ James thought. No, he was not having his hand forced like this, it wasn’t _fair._

Besides, it was Lily that he was left with. For all of his bravado, that _terrified him._

“The Prince of Camelot and the most powerful wizard ever to have lived have been eaten?” Lily asked, “right.”

“Best we check,” Sirius said, “otherwise _whose_ beard are you going to blame when we get back to Hogwarts and set off more pranks?”

“I wouldn’t even care by this point,” Lily retorted, her words slightly clipped, “at least I won’t be _here._ ”

 _I’m sorry, Lily,_ James thought. Lily looked more and more frustrated by the second, especially since they had gotten out of the Hydra’s lair. She was the more practical than the Marauders, always the one with a plan or a way to solve a problem.

It was one of the reasons James liked her so much.

“We’d best go check,” Remus said, pushing Sirius towards the woodline, “Lily, make sure nothing tries to eat James.”

“Wait why can’t I be the one to make sure Lily is okay?” James retorted.

“Because he’d rather not be on the wrong side of Lily in a fight,” Sirius replied, and Remus pushed him towards the trees.

“Such kindness,” Lily snorted, stabbing the fire with a stick. Her wand had been shoved into her hair, which she had coiled into a tight bun. It was the look she usually wore when she was in Potions or working in the Common Room.

“They don’t mean it badly,” James chided, “and you know that.”

Lily sighed.

“I know,” she smiled, just slightly. James couldn’t help but smile in reply.

“We’ll get home,” James said, “I’m sure there is a way.”

Lily nodded, looking deep into the fire. Silence fell over their little campsite, with only the crackling wood on the campfire to punctuate it.

“James,” Lily said, still looking at the fire, “can I ask you a question?”

James’ heart stopped.

“Yes,” he replied slowly.

“When did you learn to become an animagus?” Lily asked, turning to look at him.

James’ voice locked in his throat. It was illegal to become an animagus when you were unregistered, and even more illegal to access some of the _books_ about becoming an animagus without Ministry approval.

“You know that time in fourth year when we did a sponsored silence?” James said.

“Yes,” Lily said, “a remarkable feat.”

“That was the month we had to hold the mandrake leaf in our mouth for a month,” James said, “it was one of the final hurdles.”

“You did that _whilst_ taking classes?” Lily sounded almost impressed.

“Made it a bit hard to hex Snape-” James admitted.

Lily’s look darkened.

“It’s not like _he_ didn’t take a chance to go for me,” James said.

“By lowering yourself to his standards you were no better,” Lily snapped, stabbing the fire, “to be honest, would have never thought that _you_ of all people would have been able to achieve an animagus form by their forth-”

“Actually it was fifth,” James said, “we all waited for Peter before did our first transformation.”

“let _alone_ keep it a secret,” Lily finished, ignoring James, “do you realise that you have a reputation in school for being a complete egotistical, moronic prat who makes statements just to get noticed?”

_Well that hurts._

“But,” Lily sighed, “I have to admit you’re brave and funny, and kind and ridiculously loyal.”

It took all of James’ not considerable thought power to not let his jaw hang open.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Lily remarked, waving her glowing stick in James’ direction, “you don’t need a bigger ego than you already have.”

“Like you can talk,” James remarked.

Lily looked insulted.

 _Yes,_ he thought, _two can play this game._

“You might not be as vocal about it,” James remarked, “but everyone knows that Lily Evans is someone who you do _not_ get in an argument with-”

“That’s because I’m generally _right,_ ”

“Stubborn,” James said, “with a side of Gryffindor sense of courage and thirst for adventure.”

“I do _not_ thirst for adventure,” Lily said.

“Then why did you come with us?”

“Because you were doing something _stupid,_ ” Lily remarked, “you could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Could have reported us,”

“Wouldn’t have stopped you,”

“You could have stopped us,”

“Fine!” Lily threw her hands up, “I was curious, is that _such_ a bad trait?”

_Merlin’s beard she’s brilliant._

“No,” James smiled, a broad smile full of happiness, “of course it isn’t.”

Lily missed his smile, she seemed too absorbed by her frustration.

“Sorry,” Lily said, “I don’t mean to snap, James, it’s just that there is only so much a girl can take. Travelling back in time can shorten my temper.”

“It’s alright,” James replied, “we all know that your temper can’t get any shorter, time travel or not.”

Lily smirked and punched him on the arm. James feigned hurt and rubbed his shoulder violently.

“Ow!” he said, “that hurt!”

“Wuss,” Lily remarked, a proper smile appearing on her face.

 _She is beautiful,_ James thought, _truly._

“We’re back!” Sirius exclaimed, as he and Remus returned to the campsite with a dramatic jump, jazz hands and all.

Remus stepped out from the trees and rolled his eyes at Sirius’ announcement.

“Where are the sticks you were supposed to be collecting?” Lily asked.

“His fault,” Sirius said, pointing at Remus, who had now laid his head on his paws, “he wanted to play fetch.”

Remus’ face darkened, and in a flash Sirius’ black hair turned a bright colour of fuchsia.

James could help but laugh.

 _This is friends,_ he thought, as Sirius tried to shoot another hair changing hex at Remus, _and with friends, we’ll be okay._

_We’ll get home._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you who have left some kudos or a comment so far! Apologies for the delay, I am beavering away in the background at this story I promise!

Arthur opened his eyes.

The sunlight streamed through his eyelashes, causing him to blink rapidly and hold his hand in front of his head. Across their campsite, he could see that no one else was awake, apart from one figure who was prodding the remains of the fire with a stick.

“Morning,” Remus said, offering Arthur a smile. Arthur could see from the bags under Remus’ eyes that the boy had got little, if any, sleep. Faint scars crossed his face and hands, like they had been made from wounds days before. Arthur couldn’t help staring.

“Oh, don’t mind my appearance,” Remus said, casually, “In a few hours, they will have disappeared.”

 _This is not normal,_ Arthur thought, _no child should have to go through that every lunar cycle._

And they were children, really. Arthur knew that he couldn’t be more than a few years older than they were, but there was an innocence, a joy for life that Arthur only ever saw in children.  

Arthur pushed himself from his makeshift camp bed and joined Remus next to the fire. They sat in silence as the morning sun rose further into the sky, breaking up the shadows of the trees and lighting up their bright spring green leaves. Birds sang in the treetops, some swooped high above in the clear blue sky which was dotted with a few clouds.

“I feel like I’ve slept for _years_ ,” Sirius yawned, snapping the silence in two. Stretching his arms violently across his makeshift bed, Sirius also managed to nudge James, who involuntary curled up and muttered under his breath, _“leave me alone Padfoot, we don’t have lessons on a Saturday_.”

 _Yes,_ Arthur thought, _only children.  I have to get them home. They shouldn’t be here._

“Morning Padfoot,” Remus said, as Sirius sleepily stumbled over to the fireside and sat down with an ungraceful _thump_.

“Morning,” Arthur said.

Sirius grunted.

“He’s not a morning person,” Remus explained, “he always hated the first class of the day, once he tried to charm his timetable to change the classes, it didn’t work.”

“At least I _tried,_ ” Sirius grumbled, “what’s for breakfast?”

Arthur’s stomach grumbled in response.

“Over there,” Arthur said, pointing to the saddle bags that Arthur and Merlin had strung over a tree before exploring down into the cave only two days previously. The rations were a bit sodden, but it would be enough to get them back to the nearest village, and then to purchase horses which would carry them home to Camelot.

Sirius moved so fast that Arthur could barely keep track of his arm, as the saddle bags suddenly levitated in the air and _flew_ across the grass towards Sirius who caught them with open arms.

“Is there enough for everyone in there?” Remus asked, as Sirius began to pull out the bread and cheese which had been tightly packed into the bags.

 _No,_ Arthur thought, _there was only supposed to be enough for a light lunch._

“Hopefully,” Arthur said, “but I’m not hungry, I’ll get something when we get to the village.”

“What village?” Sirius said though a mouthful of bread, as he handed the other half of the loaf to Remus who took it gladly.

“Tunfeld,” Arthur said. It was a small village, one that had more travellers through than any major trade. Arthur would normally use it as a stopping point before he made any trips further in Eastern Camelot. The forest was thick this way, and after Tunfeld you were on your own in the wilderness.

“Then what are we doing after Tunfeld?” Sirius asked.

“Back to Camelot,” Arthur said, “there is no way we can survive in these woods for much longer, and if Merlin and I are away for too long then my father will send a search party.”

“Not good?” Remus said.

Arthur shook his head.

“He would raise this forest to the ground,” Arthur said, “and take men in to try and murder the Hydra. More men would die before that beast was killed.”

“So you’re going to leave it in a hole in the ground?” Sirius said.

“Yes,” Arthur said, “if it can escape, it won’t stay around here long. If it was a creature that attacked humans we would have heard about it before. I’ll just send a more regular patrol to Tunfeld to check on the citizens under the guise of needing to bolster security in the area.”

“Is that you considering to _save_ the magical creatures?” Merlin’s voices said next to Arthur, as he joined them by the campfire.

“Yes,” Arthur said, “although please tell me that there aren’t that many I have to now worry about.”

Merlin stayed silent. His eyes said everything.

 _Clearly got a lot more to learn about this magic thing then,_ Arthur thought.

“Okay, a lot more,” Arthur remarked, “but it’s okay I’ll just send you in to deal with it.”

“Me?!” Merlin yelped.

“You’re apparently the strongest warlock of our time,” Arthur said, pointing at Sirius and Remus, “according to their history books.”

“And you’re supposed to be a great King,” Merlin retorted, a smile on his face, “but you’re just a clotpole.”

“And your Prince,” Arthur remarked.

“Clotpole and Prince are two titles that go hand in hand,” Merlin remarked, “they’re practically synonymous.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. Sirius offed Merlin part of the bread from the other saddle bag, but Merlin shook his head.

“Not hungry,” Merlin said, as he picked up a stick to poke the fire with, “and besides neither James nor Lily have eaten yet.”

“Ooo we could totally solve that,” Sirius said, with a wicked grin on his face. He stood up from the fire, and crept across the campsite towards where James and Lily’s beds, wand held out.

Remus rolled his eyes, he had obviously seen this trick before. Arthur, however, looked on intrigued.

With a mutter and a hand movement, water shot out from the end of Sirius’ wand and straight onto the sleeping James and then onto Lily.

Arthur jumped out of his skin. Magic was still to alien, too weird to just _use_ as a _prank._

“What? Who? _PADFOOT!”_ James spluttered as he was rudely awakened. Sirius nimbly dodged a hex that James clumsily shot at him, still grinning.

“Wake up sleeping beauty; we need to decide what we’re doing.” Sirius said.

“Sirius Black you are going to _die,_ ” Lily spluttered, as she sat upright, pushing her now sodden hair form her face. Her look of fury even made Arthur quake in his books.

“You’re going to miss out on breakfast,” Sirius said, as he sat back down at the fire, carefully positioning himself behind Remus so as to hide from Lily’s anger.

“Damn you Sirius,” James grumbled, muttering a spell under his breath. The water from his clothed evaporated quickly. He pointed the same spell at Lily, whose clothing dried instantly.

“Sirius you are _so_ getting it,” Lily said, as she sat down next to Arthur. Arthur could feel the rage radiating off her. Remus handed her some bread and cheese, which she munched at furiously.

“So we’re going back to Camelot?” James said.

Arthur nodded.

“Then we can regroup and work out how we’re going to get you back through the door you came through-”

“There is no way we can go back down there,” Merlin said, “even if the Hydra is gone, those caves are a maze as it is an no doubt it was a portal created by Moray that brought them here.”

“Then how are we going to get home?” James asked.

“I’ll find a way,” Merlin said, “if I can consult my books-”

“Book?” Arthur remarked.

“I can’t just keep it all in my head,” Merlin tapped the side of his temple to emphasise.

“You do realise that if anyone was to find those books that would be treason,” Arthur said, “I hope you kept them in safe space.”

“Under my bed,” Merlin said.

“Oh wonderful,” Arthur replied, “very secure.”

“Can they get us home?” Lily said over Merlin’s next snappy response.

 _They have to,_ Arthur thought.

“It’s our only chance,” Merlin said, “but there is no way you’re going to be able to walk into Camelot in your current attire.”

“Does that mean I get to be Lord Potter of Godric?” James said, rather eagerly.

“I was about to suggest that you should pretend to be nobels,” Arthur said, “it’s the only way you all will be able to get into Camelot without too much fuss.”

“Lily can be my wife-” James started.

“Why do I have to be wife?” Lily retorted.

“Actually,” Merlin said, “that’s probably not a bad shout.”

“What?” Lily said.

“An unmarried woman walking into Camelot, especially a noble, would be married off within a week,” Arthur said.

Lily’s face darkened.

Arthur held his hands up.

“It’s not right,” Arthur said, “but it’s what happens.”

“Better bloody change it when you’re king,” Lily remarked, “women can be just as independent as any man.”

“That I know,” Arthur said, “but we need to get you in unnoticed, and that means we have to play by the rules.”

Lily grumbled.

“I will be, Sir Black, retainer and brother of old James here,” Sirius said, “gallant hero, knight of honour, and hero to all noble dames around.”

“Is that your newspaper ad for yourself?” Lily asked.

“Please,” Sirius said, “if I were to make a newspaper ad, I would take a _lot_ more time to write an advert that would encapsulate how wonderful I was.”

“Why am I old?” James asked.

“Because all Lords are old,” Sirius explained, “and you’re masquerading as one at the moment. Visa vis, you’re old.”

“I suppose I’ll be a Lord as well,” Remus said, looking at Arthur questionably, “sound about right?”

“Indeed,” Arthur said, “just remember that this isn’t a game. If you’re found out you’ll be killed.”

“Wonderful,” James remarked.

“Just sneer at everyone like they’re dirt and you won’t get spotted,” Merlin said.

Arthur elbowed him, hard.

“ _I’m_ a noble,” he said.

“You used to sneer,” Merlin said.

“Well I try to do less of that now,” Arthur said, waving his hand at the comment. He would rather not remember the days before he had met Merlin, when he was a Prince in name only, but not in action. He had been arrogant, foolish, and childish back then.

It had taken knowing Merlin to introduce a little bit of humility to him.

“I know,” Merlin said, “when shall we make a move?”

Arthur glanced towards the sky. The sun was now fully above the horizon, it would take a good few hours to reach Tunfeld, and then another day to reach Camelot.

“Now,” Arthur said, “but we’ll need to find some new clothes for you all in Tunfeld. There is no way you will be allowed to enter Camelot dressed in a magician’s robe.”

James waved his wand at Arthur.

“We do not need to purchase anything,” he remarked “I have an ‘O’ in my OWLs for Transfiguration.”

Arthur nodded, pretending that he understood.

 _I have a long way to go to understanding this Magic business,_ he thought to himself.

x-x-x

Sirius decided that if he was ever made a king in another life, he would want a castle like Camelot.

Regardless of the fact that he was struggling to stay on his horse, he was still able to admire the towering stone walls and imposing turrets that rose high up into the sky. Whilst Hogwarts was a castle, this castle was more of a defensive building, without the welcoming kind gates or gentle sloping rooves.

“You managing alright?” Merlin whispered as Sirius tried to direct his horse away from the cartful of apples that was being pulled down the street by a vendor. Everyone looked at their little group as they made their way through the lower town, some of whom shouted out at Arthur who gave a very royal wave in return. Despite the muck, smell, and medieival poverty that these people lived in, they clearly looked up to their Prince for leadership and protection.

 _Okay maybe not a King,_ Sirius thought, _too much effort._

“I’m alright,” Sirius said, as he focussed on the rear of Remus’ horse and tried to direct his animal in the right direction.

“You’re doing great,” Merlin whispered back. Whilst Arthur had tried to coach them on the etiquette of the court before they had arrived in Camelot, Sirius was still terrified that one of them might slip up and give the game away.

“Thanks,” Sirius whispered back through gritted teeth.

They made their way through the lower town, slowly weaving their way towards the central castle. The walls looked even taller this close up, and Sirius could just about make out the guards striding backwards and forwards along their guard posts.

He gulped.

 _What are we doing,_ he thought, as they trotted through the outer walls. The guards saluted to Arthur, who saluted back, and their little party continued through the various defensive moats and finally into the central courtyard.

It was impressive, Sirius had to admit. The courtyard was bustling with activity, people diving to and fro, dressed in various states of finery. Sirius fought the urge to pull at the collar of his shirt, even transfigured clothing was still uncomfortable. The _breeches_ were something else entirely _._ He wanted to be back to the comfort of his school robes.

Arthur stopped in the middle of the courtyard, jumping off his horse with ease. James was next in line, sliding off his horse with less grace and ease, but trying to look imposing as the stablehand ran up to get the reigns of the horse.

Lily and Remus slid down from their horses with sufficient grace. Sirius wasn’t sure how Lily managed it in the layers of dress that she was wearing. It had taken James and her a good few hours of transfiguration spells to work out what clothing _looked_ right.

Sirius jumped down from his horse, trying to make it look like he knew what he was doing. Merlin slid easily from the saddle behind him, and snuck up beside Sirius to grab the horse’s reigns.

“Go stand with the others,” Merlin whispered, “I’ll handle the horses.”

 _What?_ Sirius thought. But then he remembered – back in Camelot history’s strongest wizard was nothing more than a servant.

 _That’s just mad,_ Sirius thought, as he strode up next to Remus. He could see the nerves written across his friend’s face and Sirius gave him a gentle elbow of support.

Suddenly, the main doors slammed open, and an imposing man strode out of them with a stern glance on his face. The clothes he wore made Sirius’ look cheap, and the golden crown on his head gave away his position, and his identity.

This was Uther, King of Camelot, and father to Arthur.

He also had a perchance for burning any kind of magic user at the stake, Merlin had informed them quietly earlier.

“Arthur,” Uther said, walking down the steps with an easy stride for his age, “I’m so glad that you’re safe.”

“Father,” Arthur said, as he went up to embrace his father. The hug was formal, strained, it was almost something that Sirius would have given his mother if she had ever asked for affection.

 _A distant relationship, if not the most loving of ones,_ Sirius thought. But then, back in these times everything was upside down and back to front. It wasn’t just stepping back in _time,_ it was stepping back into another social _age._

“I was about to send out a party,” Uther said, his baritone voice easy for Sirius to eavesdrop on, “when you hadn’t returned-”

“The sorcerer is vanquished, Father,” Arthur said, “he will no longer tyrannise the people of Tunfeld or that area again.”

“Good work,” Uther said, clapping Arthur on the back, “that is one of our problems solved.”

“One of them?” Arthur asked.

“Morgana,” Uther said shortly, waving his hand, “but these are not matters, I will discuss here, tell me, who are your new companions?”

 _Morgana?_ Sirius thought, _wasn’t that the person who was set against Merlin? The one who Merlin was always battling against in the old stories? What have we gotten ourselves into._

 “Father, whilst in captivity by the sorcerer I was held with these people,” Arthur said, with ease, “they were captives too, and showed great courage and loyalty to help me escape.”

 _Clearly not the first time he’s lied to his father,_ Sirius thought, as his heart started to thunder in his chest. Now was the do-or-die moment. Now they had to con the King of Camelot.

Uther turned towards James, who swallowed stiffly. Sirius felt his heart beat a little faster, if that was even possible.

“Your majesty,” James said, respectfully bowing enough to be respectful but not so much to be disrespectful.

“You are?” Uther inquired. Sirius could see James break into a sweat with stress.

“Lord James of Godric,” James replied, his voice sounding more confident than his body language, “may I introduce my wife Lady Lily of Godric.”

Lily stepped forwards, trying very hard to keep a smile on her face. Sirius knew she was furiously concentrating not to trip on the edge of her gown.

“Your Majesty,” Lily said, curtseying low. Her hair had been pulled up in an intricate braid with a spell that Lily had remembered for one of the Halloween balls. Apparently you couldn’t even have your hair down if you were a noble.

“My Lady,” Uther said, taking her proffered hand and kissing it politely.

“My brother, Sir Sirius,” James said. Sirius swallowed as he stepped forward and bowed.

“Your Majesty,” Sirius said, his throat feeling dry. This was some prank they were trying to pull, and even the most hardened of pranksters would have trouble trying to con a King who could kill them at a moment’s notice.

“And finally my faithful friend, Sir Remus,” James said. Remus bowed politely.

“Your Majesty,” Remus said.

“It is most delightful meeting you all,” Uther said, “and if you have been held captured by the same magician that Arthur has slain then you will be both tired and hungry. Come, we cannot leave you standing outside all day. You will be our most honoured guests.”

“You are too kind your majesty,” James said for them all, offering his arm to Lily politely in an attempt to keep up the pretence of being nobility. It was also a friendly gesture, as Sirius knew that Lily was still struggling trying to walk in the costume.

 _Brave new world,_ Sirius thought to himself as he and Remus followed Lily and James into the castle innards. Arthur gave them a small smile of support as he turned to follow his father up the steps.

 _Let’s just home we can get home soon,_ Sirius thought, _and without too much of a fuss._

x-x-x

 “Arthur _knows_?!” Gauis said, as he sat down heavily.

 _This is exactly the problem I was worried about,_ Merlin thought. But then, he couldn’t keep the secret from Gauis, after all he needed to think of a method of getting the four students back to their time and Gauis was one of the only ones who might be able to point him in the right direction of an answer.

“I couldn’t have exactly kept it from him,” Merlin said, sitting opposite Gauis, “the situation was just, well, I _couldn’t_.”

“Why is that now?” Gauis questioned, his eyebrow raising slightly “is it anything to do with those new guests of Arthur’s?”

“Sort of,” Merlin said, squirming in his seat. He hated disappointing Gauis, and he could almost pre-empt Gauis’ anger if he knew that the four guests were _also_ magicians.

“He already knew,” Merlin said, “Arthur had been told about my magic.”

“By the guest?” Gauis said, “they don’t look like druids-”

“They’re not,” Merlin interrupted.

“Then what are they?”

“They’re wizards,” Merlin said, causing Gauis’ jaw to hang in shock, “from the future.”

“The future,” Gauis clarified.

“Yes,”

“They can control magic?”

“Yes.”

“So they’re not nobles then?” Gauis said, “they’ve lied to the king.”

“No and yes” Merlin replied.

“They’re playing a dangerous game,” Gauis muttered, shaking his head, “but you’re sure they’re from the future? And they knew _you_ had magic? That must mean your destiny _is_ strong indeed.”

“Yes, they’re from the future,” Merlin said, “they came through some magical doorway.”

“Magical doorway?” Gauis said, getting up and going over his room. Merlin could hear Gauis pulling up the other loose floorboard, and pulling out a book.

“What’s so important about a magical doorway?” Merlin asked.

“What was the name of the person who captured you?” Gauis said, as he thumbed through the book, before putting the open page on the table in front of Merlin.

“Moray,” Merlin said, “no one I had heard from before.”

“Moray?” Gauis said, pointing at the book, “but it says here Moray died almost 200 years ago.”

“He wasn’t very dead a few days ago,” Merlin said, peering over Gauis’ shoulder “does it make any mention of a daughter?”

“Daughter?” Gauis questioned, peering at the book and leafing through a few of the pages, “I’m pretty sure rumour has it that he had one daughter, named-”

“Cassandra,” Merlin finished.

“Yes,” Gauis raised an eyebrow at Merlin, “did he mention her?”

“We met her,” Merlin said, “and she wasn’t the only person to be in that body. Apparently her magic had taken on a persona of its own.”

“Yes,” Gauis said, pointing at a paragraph of text that was written at a slant, the handwriting as old as the book, “it says here that she was a creature of both night and day. She was Moray’s most devastating weapon.”

“What happened?”

“Destroyed,” Gauis said, “according to this book. But it seems that someone has resurrected them.”

“Couldn’t they have gone into hiding?” Merlin asked, “why do they have to be resurrected?”

“Because otherwise they would have been mentioned in other tomes. Moray was not one to keep his cover and to stay quiet. I should have really thought about him before when we first started hearing about the rogue magician around those parts – but then I couldn’t have thought it would be _Moray._ ”

“Okay,” Merlin said, “so if Moray had been resurrected, who would have done it?”

“Have you heard the rumours recently?” Gauis said, “there is talk that Morgana is rallying a force behind her to try and take back Camelot in the name of magic.”

“That’s just conjecture,” Merlin waved his hand. Morgana might be a threat, but she wasn’t _that_ much of a threat.

“She would have been interested in Arthur and you being out of Camelot for some time,” Gauis said.

“Yeh, but she wouldn’t have brought someone back in _time,_ ” Merlin shook his head. Morgana was not that powerful, and there would be no reason for her to pull a stunt like _time travel._

“I agree,” Gauis said, “but I think the two aren’t related. You went to find a magician, and I think that’s what Morgana intended for you to do. Someone else brought your wizards from the future.”

Merlin paled.

_Who on earth could be so powerful as to break time itself? That’s like rewriting destiny._

Even he knew the power of destiny. Indeed, destiny was so powerful it didn’t need a _reason_ to happen, sometimes it felt like things happened the way they did because they just _did._

“We need to get the wizards home first,” Merlin said, “Morgana won’t attack us. She’ll know Arthur and I have returned safely. She wouldn’t dare.”

“You’ll be surprised what she would dare,” Gauis said, “she threated the King with a message this very morning.”

“How?”

“She controlled one of the guards to speak in her voice instead of their own,” Gauis said, “it shook Uther to his core.”

“Oh gods,” Merin said, putting his head in his hands, “that means Uther is going to be even more vigilant about any magicians.”

“Indeed,” Gauis said, “I hope for their sake that your wizard friends are very, very good at keeping their cover story. I’d hate to think of the mess we’d all be in if they didn’t.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for your patience with this chapter. Life and anxiety have gotten in the way of my writing, and this chapter needed a lot of work. I hope you all enjoy it, and wish you all a happy holidays! Special thanks to Siriuslysings for the lovely message that prodded me to get this over the line!

“You look stunning m’Lady,” Gwen said, trying to fill in the gaps in the conversation. Her charge, Lady Godric, was decidedly silent as Gwen helped her into the clothing. However, it was not the normal brooding silence of someone who did not wish to talk to another beneath them, it was the brooding silence of someone who did not know what to say.

 _Maybe she comes from a kingdom that isn’t as big as Camelot_ , Gwen thought tucking the strings in. Gwen had seen such behaviour before from ladies who had not been to such a big city as Camelot before, and were suddenly thrust into the limelight. Gwen couldn’t put her finger on Lady Godric’s age, but she had to be younger than Gwen. There was a childish innocence in her eyes that Gwen noted in the young girls who had just started helping out the stalls down in the markets. They were professional, yes, but they didn’t have age on their side.

“Please, call me Lily,” Lily replied to Gwen, smiling.

 _A tightness in her eyes as well,_ Gwen thought. She picked up the hairbrush and began to comb the Lady’s hair with care. It certainly was shorter than the other noble ladies in Camelot, after all if someone had _wealth_ they cared for their hair.

The Lady Godric’s bright red hair was mattered with dirt and leaves, presumably from their time on the road and their time held in the cells with the mad magician. It was a beautiful auburn colour, almost like the reds of a sunrise in winter.

 _I need to ask Arthur what happened down in those caves,_ Gwen thought absently, _he doesn’t look right. And with Morgana too._

Gwen carefully undid the tangles in the Lady’s hair. It was in too poor a state to style into a complex style, so Gwen gently laid it down the back of the Lady’s dress.

“I’m can see why your husband would want to marry you,” Gwen said, stepping back from Lady Godric and allowing her to stand up, “you look beautiful.”

Gwen had to admit the deep purple gown suited the Lady’s figure, although she could see that Lady Godric did not stand with the ease of some of the other noble ladies she had attending during her years. Even Morgana had held herself with an air of importance that one could only gain if you were born into nobility.

Lily blushed at the complement. Gwen could see a hint of panic in her eyes.

“Thank you,” Lady Godric said, picking up her stick from the side table and fiddling with it. Gwen didn’t quite understand why Lady Godric would insist on keeping the piece of wood by her side.

 _Let the nobility have their quirks,_ Gwen said, _and you get on with your job._

“If that is all, M’lady?” Gwen said.

“Yes,” Lily replied, “that is all thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome,” Gwen said, dipping a curtsey. Lady Godric replied with a short bob of her head, as was the customary dismissal.

Gwen made her exit quickly, leaving Lady Godric to her evening. The meal organised in their honour was still being prepared, and if Gwen judged the sun correctly, there was still a good two hours before the meal would be served.

 _Maybe there will be some food going in the kitchens?_ Gwen thought. Her stomach rumbled ominously. They would be in the middle of preparing the feast that Uther had ordered, and Gracie, the head chef, would probably throw Gwen out of the kitchens before she had even poked her nose in.

Gwen let her feet lead her through the castle. It wasn’t hard to notice the tension that threaded its way through the air, especially after Morgana’s threat. It had rattled Uther, and it had rattled the entire of Camelot. Rumours spread easily through the castle, and by lunchtime the entire of Camelot had known about the scene that only a few had seen for themselves.

Gwen had been one of those few, happening to be in the room when it happened. She still got shives down her spine when she thought of that memory. Of Morgana’s voice, which had once been a voice of a friend, uttering from the body of a bewitched guard.

“Gwen!”

Gwen stopped at her name, turning around to see Arthur come jogging down the corridor. He skidded to a halt just in front of Gwen, leaving enough space to be respectable.

 _And sometimes too much space,_ Gwen thought, _it feels like a canyon._

But sometimes, there were realities that one had to accept. One was that she was a serving maid, and that did not make her heart eligible for the love of a prince, let alone a future King.

“Arthur,” she replied, noting Arthur’s stiff posture, “you look worried.”

“I’m fine,” Arthur replied, shortly. Too shortly. He _was_ worried.

“Are you alright?” Gwen asked, leaning around Arthur to check that no one was coming down the corridor that would interrupt their conversation, “what happened down in the caves?”

Arthur swallowed.

“You’ve heard the rumours-”

“I want to hear it from _you,_ ” Gwen said.

“I have no idea,” Arthur replied, smiling at Gwen. It wasn’t his normal smile, it was his comforting smile.

 _By the heavens you will tell me Arthur Pendragon,_ Gwen thought.

“That’s not an answer,” she replied.

“I don’t _know,_ ” Arthur said, reaching out and touching Gwen’s shoulder lightly. The move made a shiver go down Gwen’s spine.

“All I know is that I have to keep this Kingdom safe, and that Morgana has clearly tried to scare father. I’m not sure if these happenings down in the caves are connected, but even if they aren’t, the people of Camelot have to be safe. The only way they can be safe is if I stop Morgana.”

Gwen breathed, trying to steady her thoughts. Arthur’s hand still gently rested on her shoulder.

“She is your sister,”

“Was,”

“Maybe you can reason with her,” Gwen said, “you know Uther won’t, but maybe you can. Morgana is lost, she isn’t evil.”

Arthur smiled, a genuine smile this time.

“You always had such faith in people,” Arthur said, “don’t ever loose that, Gwen.”

“I’ll keep the faith,” Gwen smiled, “you keep us safe.”

Arthur chuckled.

“That’s my job,” Arthur said, staring directly at Gwen. She thought she might melt under the intensity of his gaze, her heart certainly quickened it’s beat.

“Well go and keep us safe,” Gwen said, “but don’t do anything stupid.”

“When have you ever known me to do something stupid?” Arthur said, taking his hand from Gwen’s shoulder and giving her a proper, broad smile.

“All the time,” she replied, “go, your Kingdom needs you. Your father needs you.”

Arthur nodded, just once. It was the same nod she would normally give to a noble.

“My Lady,” Arthur said, bowing slightly as he stepped past her.

“My Lord,” Gwen replied, curtseying slightly.

And with that, Arthur strode away. Gwen waited until he had turned the corner before she reached up and touched her shoulder. She could still feel Arthur’s gentle touch on her dress, just slightly.

She turned back down the corridor, away from the direction Arthur had disappeared down. She needed to ready herself for dinner, she was to wait on the Lady Godric, and that meant she had to be dressed for the part.

 _Don’t entertain foolish fancies,_ she thought to herself, _larger things are afoot. Something will happen, this castle is waiting to break. It’s just a matter of time._

x-x-x

“So tell us,” Gwaine said, grinning like a wolf as he threw an apple up in the air casually, “what _actually happened?”_

Arthur actively regretted holding this meeting, down in one of the disused guest rooms of the castle. The knights were restless, and fresh with a new threat to defend the Kingdom, they were like caged wolves waiting to be unleashed.

“Magic,” Arthur shook his head, “of a scale I have never seen before.”

“Eh,” Percival said, shrugging, “nothing we haven’t stopped before.”

“This is of a _tactical_ scale,” Arthur paced backwards and forward. Lancelot fiddled with the edge of his collar, which he did whenever he was nervous.

“Lance?” Arthur asked.

“What happens if Morgana _wants_ this?” he said, looking around at the other Knights, “you have to admit that her voice-through-controlled-corpse act was not exactly friendly.”

Arthur nodded. He didn’t like to admit it, but Lance was right.

“There could be another player,” Leon suggested.

“Who?” Gwaine said, eating a bite of his apple. The damn man never stopped eating.

“Some other magician?” Leon said.

“No, it’s Morgana,” Arthur said, “it _stinks_ of Morgana.”

“How?” Elyan asked, snatching Gwaine’s apple from the air and taking a bite out of it.

“If a magician wanted to attack Camelot that is what they would do,” Arthur said, “instead, she got me to investigate a loose trail of attacks on outlying villages and held hostage by another sorcerer under her whim.”

“And the other nobles?”

 _Almost forgot about them,_ Arthur thought.

“Wrong place, wrong time,” Arthur said, shrugging.

He wasn’t sure if the knights bought the lie, they weren’t stupid after all. But Arthur had their loyalty, and that meant they wouldn’t question him. They would know he would have a good reason to keep quiet.

And he did have a good reason.

“So when will she strike?” Elyan said, “it could be weeks or months-”

“Tonight,” Lancelot said, “there is a huge feast in the honour of the people who escaped her grasp? Please, she would totally go for it.”

“She was one for showing off,” Leon remarked.

“Just remember,” Arthur said, remembering Gwen’s words from earlier, “she might be confused. Lost. She isn’t evil.”

Gwaine stared at Arthur like he had grown a second head.

“Arthur,” he said, “your Father is likely to kill her if she steps a foot inside the _kingdom,_ let alone the castle.”

“That’s my Father’s decision,” Arthur said, raising his chin, and switching to his commander voice, “I need you all to keep our guests safe, and keep Camelot safe if anything were to happen.”

The knights nodded in unison. Gwaine picked up another apple.

“Gwaine do you every stop eating?” Arthur asked.

Gwaine shoot his head, continuing to much his apple.

x-x-x

“I’m so hungry I’m going to die,” Sirius said, as their little group followed one of the servants down the twisting corridors of Camelot.

Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius was _never_ not hungry.

“You’ll survive,” Remus said, “apparently, these feasts are well known for their extravagance.”

“Shame they can’t do it for the people living outside of the castle,” Lily muttered. She held onto James’ arm with a vice like grip. She was terrified.

They all were, if Remus were to admit it.

They walked in silence, their fear palpable in the air around them. Remus moved his shoulders in the itchy clothing, wishing he had his Hogwarts robes on. His skin was sore enough as it was with all the scars from his most recent werewolf outing, it didn’t need to be ripped to shreds by the itchy clothing.

They stopped abruptly at one of the doors. Having lived in Hogwarts for so long, Remus didn’t find the grant sweeping oak doors impressive. They were no larger than the ones that led out of the back exits into the Hogwarts grounds.

The servant squared his shoulders, before pushing against the heavy doors with his small frame. Remus felt his heart begin to beat faster. Sirius began to fiddle with the end of his cuffs, a clue of his nerves. It was the only tell Sirius allowed to show, everything else was a smooth veneer of confidence. It was Sirius’ way of dealing with his stress, although Remus did admit it probably wasn’t the healthiest.

“The Lord and Lady of Godric, Sir Sirius Black and Sir Remus Lupin,” the servant called, introducing them.

Remus felt fear rise up in his chest. The hall fell silent as the gathering patrons, all members of the royal court, turned to look at the new guests. He could feel their eyes sliding over each of them in turn, working out if they could use them in their political machinations.

“Welcome!” Uther said, rising from his chair at the head of the table, “please, join us!”

The servant led their little group around to the far side of the hall, at the top of one of the six long tables that were laid down the hallway. Remus scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face. He spotted Arthur seated next to his father, and Merlin was hanging in the wings with the other servants.

Otherwise, there was no one else they knew.

“You’re to be seated here, M’Lord,” the servant said to James, indicating a small space at the end of the table. There were a small group of men talking to one another, all bearing the cloaks and colours of Camelot with Arthur’s sigil embroidered into the shoulder.

_They must be Arthur’s Knights. The Knights of the Round Table._

“Thank you,” James said to the servant, as he and Lily took their seats. Sirius followed suit, as Remus went to the end of the table to take the seat next to Lily. He hated being in the centre of the table, it was too focussed, too social. After a full moon, Remus didn’t want anyone to ask questions of his pale complexion or the scars that ran up his arm when his sleeve was pulled back.

“So, you’re the new guests,” the first Knight said, taking a leg of chicken from the platter and plonking it on his plate with as much decorum as Sirius would have managed after 6 butterbeers, “are you enjoying Camelot?”

“Very much,” James said, “it’s nice to be back in civilisation again.”

“Arthur said you were being held hostage,” the Knight said shaking his head, “I’m sorry that you had to suffer in Camelot’s lands. In this day and age, you would have thought that the bad guys might want peace.”

“You’d be surprised,” Sirius commented, “bad guys just like to stir up trouble.”

“Thank you for agreeing with me,” the Knight said, elbowing his other knight, “see Lance, I have someone who agrees with me.”

The other knight, Lance, gave the first one a pointed stare.

“One agreeing view does not mean you are right,” Lance replied, “or that you’re winning your bet, Gwaine.”

 _Gwaine,_ Remus thought, _there are the Knights of Camelot. It’s like we’ve walked into the stuff that legends are made from._

“Lance is right,” the third knight said, “Gwaine, you don’t win the bet.”

“Percival, you don’t even _like_ betting,” Gwaine said, looking up at the bulkier knight, “and anyway a view of a noble is twice that of us knights.”

“Why is that?” Lily asked.

Gwaine shot Lily a smile that would have made even Sirius weak at the knees. Remus could feel James’ glare from the other side of Lily. Lily looked like she was having a great time winding up James.

“It’s something Arthur says to win an argument,” Gwaine explained, “he pulls the noble card to try and trump us.”

Percival elbowed Gwaine.

“Don’t insult the guests,” he said, rolling his eyes at Gwaine.

“It’s alright,” Remus said, plucking a bread roll from the platter and nibbling on it. The full moon made his appetite disappear totally, it was always a struggle to eat something. Normally it would involve James and Sirius sitting on either side of him until he had a full meal, with Peter sitting across the table to make sure Remus didn’t make a quick escape.

 _Poor Peter,_ Remus thought. He’d be in the hospital wing by himself, with no one to visit him.

“What do you think about this threat?” Lily said, “it’s all we’ve heard about since we arrived.”

The knights looked at one another. Gwaine shifted in his seat.

“It’s nothing that Arthur cannot protect us from,” Percival said with conviction.

A knife clanged against one of the goblets, catching everyone’s attention. Silence fell across the hall, as all the guests craned their necks towards the top table where Uther pushed himself to his feet. In his finery, Remus could see why he was a King that was feared and respected across the land. Compared with Arthur, Uther had years of war and leadership that scarred his face and entire persona. Here, in the packed hall, he commanded attention just by raising his hand.

_He is a ruler, a king that made peace through power._

Remus felt unsettled as Uther’s gaze passed over their little group. He always did whenever someone in authority tried to analyse him. It was an after effect of having to hide his werewolf nature from those who would see him dead.

“Welcome, all,” Uther said, raising his glass, “I hope you have all enjoyed your meals so far.

“We are gathered here to celebrate a victory. My son Arthur, has bravely faced a most dangerous foe, rescuing our four most welcome guests who are here with us this evening.”

Uther gestured towards their group. Remus squirmed as the weight of the entire hall looked towards them, clapping politely against their goblets.

“We are faced, yet again, with a great plague across our lands. Magic has entered Camelot’s borders, and threatened our kingsmen. We must stand united against this foe, and we will defeat it for the last time!”

Uther raised his goblet to the ceiling.

“A toast, to the defeat of magic!” he called.

“To the defeat of magic” Remus muttered, raising his goblet with the rest of the cheer in the room. He caught Arthur looking at him apologetically. Merlin had slunk further into the shadows.

 _The most powerful wizard ever to have lived,_ Remus thought, _and to live with this bigotry._

Uther drank from his goblet until there was none left to drink, slamming the cup down on the table in front of him.

“Let us celebrate!” Uther said, “to the victory of Camelot!”

Everyone cheered.

Then someone screamed.

Silence fell across the room faster than a _silencio_ spell. Another scream came from outside, in the corridor, before being cut off abruptly.

“Oh Gods,” Gwaine said, as he leapt from his chair, sending food flying. Arthur vaulted his table, drawing his sword at the main doorway to the entrance hall. In moments, the Knights of Camelot flanked him on both sides, all with swords drawn.

Remus slid from his seat, followed by James, Lily and Sirius. The rest of the guests began to look around frantically, panic entering their eyes.

Another scream.

Then silence.

_Boom._

The doors flew open with a crash, breaking the silence in the hall. Everyone froze, fear freezing them in spot. Remus could see James fiddling with his wand up his sleeve.

A woman stepped through the broken doors, blood soaking her rich purple dress. Her hair was done up ornately, spilling down her shoulders like Medusa’s snakes had back in the cave. She wore a smile that made Remus turn cold inside.

“Hello, Uther,” she said, “did you miss me?”

x-x-x

Gwaine gripped his sword tighter, ready to fight.

Morgana walked into the hall like a Queen, head held high to the ceiling. Her shoes made a _clacking_ sound on the wooden floor, echoing through the silent hallway.

The courtiers had all frozen out of shock. Some were still holding food halfway up to their mouths.

 _It’s going to become carnage in a minute,_ Gwaine thought. The calm before the storm.

“Was I disrupting something?” she said, stopping at the end of one of the long tables. She picked up an apple from the plate in front of her, tossing it up in the air absently.

No one spoke. Gwaine glanced back at Uther, who was as pale as a sheet in his throne.

“Leave,” Arthur growled, raising his sword at Morgana,

“Oh Arthur, she said, tapping the table in front of her with the apple, “that’s no way to greet your sister.”

Arthur flinched. Gwaine could see him tense up. Arthur always wore his emotions on his sleeve, especially when it came to family.

“Leave and you will not be harmed,” Arthur said.

“Oh,” Morgana faked surprise, “really? I didn’t realise you had the power now.”

“I don’t,” Arthur replied, glancing back at Uther. Gwaine thought he could read the death that was written across Uther’s entire expression. It was the same bloodlust that leaders would get in battle.

He raised his hand towards Morgana, finger pointing judgementally.

“Kill her,” he said.

Arthur’s face broke in desperation.

One of the courtiers screamed.

All hell broke loose.

Suddenly, where there was silence, it was filled with noise. People moved, all trying to run from the room, scrambling over one another to get to safety. Gwaine moved with the crowd, Lancelot following him, jumping up onto the table so he could try and get to Morgana.

Marching boots deafened the screams, as guards poured into the room. They did not wear the red uniform of Camelot, instead they had rich blue robes with Morgana’s symbol etched into their shoulders. Gwaine jumped up onto one of the tables, elbowing one in the face and kicking a plate at another. In the corner of his eye, he could see the courtiers trying to flee towards the exit, held back by the influx of guards coming in.

“Stop,” Morgana said, snapping her fingers.

Gwaine froze, as did everyone else in the room. It was as if his entire body was stuck in honey, arm held high up in the air ready to blow down on the helmet of another of Morgana’s guards.

Silence settled on the room, and it was only then that Gwaine noticed that his ears were ringing. The cacophony of a fight was one of those things you learnt to deal with in conflict, but the sudden silence brought it more to the fore.

“Let’s make this easy shall I?” she said, as she stepped up onto the table that Gwaine was held frozen on, “if you let me have the crown, Uther, I will let all these little people go free.”

She walked down the table, kicking food and drink onto the frozen people beneath her. Gwaine’s heart hammed in his chest as Morgana drew eye level with him. There was no remorse in her eyes, only anger and hatred.

 _I don’t think she can be saved, Arthur,_ Gwaine thought.

Morgana grinned like a cat playing with her prey, as she sauntered past Gwaine towards Uther. Gwaine couldn’t turn his head to see what she was doing, but he could hear the _clang_ of plates and goblets as they were kicked to the floor.

“I’m here to take what is rightfully mine,” she spat, presumably at Uther, “and there is _nothing_ you can do to stop me, no now. It’s not nice, is it, to be powerless?”

She clicked her fingers and the spell dropped. Gwaine managed to catch himself in time before he fell face first into the table and goblets beneath him. The courtiers staggered like him, fear written across their faces.

No one screamed.

Gwaine took the moment to scan the room for the other Knights. Percival was still over with Arthur’s new guests, Lance was next to Arthur along with Eylan. Leon was on the other side of the hall, standing near Merlin.

“Put them in the dungeons,” Morgana ordered, swinging around and pointing at the courtiers. She looked up at where Gwaine was on the table, ready to pounce along with the rest of the Knights.

“Stop me and I kill them all,” Morgana said, smiling, “you understand?”

Gwaine glanced towards Arthur, whose face was screwed up in frustration.

“Understood,” Arthur said, “promise me you will not harm them.”

“No,” Morgana said, “no one of importance, at least.”

Arthur sheathed his sword, along with the rest of the Knights. Gwaine sheathed his sword with a stubborn grimace. Uther stayed planted in his throne, anger clear on his face. However, when he tried to shout orders no voice came out.

“It’s not nice being silence, is it Uther?” Morgana hissed, clapping her hands to garner everyone’s attention.

“If you resist, you will be killed. Otherwise, you will face no harm.”

The courtiers mumbled agreement. Morgana’s grin grew.

 _We are all doomed,_ Gwaine thought, _she truly is mad. And now she’s in control._

x-x-x

Lily wrestled against the guard that grabbed her elbow. She could smell the stench of alcohol and unwashed stink waft over her. It almost made her gag.

“I’m not struggling,” she said, as the guard let go of her arm. Percival had been rounded up already, having been escorted with the other Knights as the first group to leave. Morgana stood on the table, watching her followers herd the terrified courtiers from the hall.

Lily was surprised about how civilised it was. But that was what fear could do to people.

“We’ll be okay,” James said. Lily could see the terror in his eyes, the same that was reflected in Remus and Sirius’ eyes. Suddenly, she wished she had left her wand back in her room, rather than tucking it up her sleeve.

“I know,” Lily replied. It was empty words, they all knew that.

They shuffled past the tables, eyes cast downwards. Lily could feel her heart pounding in her chest as their guards herded them towards Morgana’s evil grin. Lily repressed the shiver that raced up her spine when the woman’s gaze fell over their little group.

“Wait,” Morgana said to the guards, stepping down from the table. The four of them halted, frozen in place. If the legends were to be believed, Morgana was as strong as Merlin, or certainly a match for him. Even someone like Voldemort would struggle against a woman such as Morgana.

Morgana pushed past James and walked straight towards Lily.

 _Oh gods,_ Lily thought, _I’m going to die._

She could feel the fear grip her instantly, fighting the instinct to whip her wand out and blast _something_ at the approaching woman.

“You,” Morgana hissed, grabbing Lily’s chin with her hand. Lily whimpered under the crushing grip of Morgana’s fingers, trying to look anywhere but the woman’s eyes.

“I need a serving woman,” she said, “you will do.”

Lily barely had time to react as Morgana dragged her away. She didn’t even get a chance to look back at James, Sirius and Remus, instead being led by the chin right up to the high table.

 _I’m going to die,_ she thought. It was her only thought, her brain couldn’t comprehend anything other than fear, terror, and the inevitability of death.

Morgana let go of her chin, causing Lily to stumble forward. She managed to catch herself on the table, pulling herself upright. As she did so, she caught Uther’s terrified glance. He looked vulnerable this close. He was just a man against a force he couldn’t understand.

“Wait here,” Morgana ordered, as she followed the final group of guards, escorting them from the room. Lily caught Remus’ eye as James, Sirius and he were led from the room with the points of the guard’s swords sticking in their backs.

 _I want to go home,_ Lily thought, as Remus, Sirius and James disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

With a flick of her wrist, Morgana slammed the doors shut. Lily jumped involuntarily, grabbing the table for support.

“Are you having fun?” Morgana sneered at Uther, as she strode towards the table, gesturing with a beckoning hand to the left of the hall. Lily saw a terrified Gwen scuttle from the shadows, followed by an elderly man who was easily the oldest person Lily had seen in Camelot. He was the only one who did not look terrified of Morgana, instead he stared at her with intense pity in his elderly eyes.

 Uther tried to gasp for words behind Lily, however, no sound came out.

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” Morgana said sweetly, flicking her hair out of her face as she walked up to Uther and bent over the table. Her long fingers uncurled like talons of a bird of pretty as she plucked the crown off Uther’s head and placed it on her own.

“What do you think?” she said, grinning.

Uther looked at Morgana with hate in his eyes.

“What do you think, Gauis?” Morgana said to the old man, “are you afraid of me now?”

“Afraid?” the elderly man, Gauis, said, “no. Pity, yes.”

“Pity?” Morgana spat, “you don’t understand what I can _do_!”

She snapped her fingers. Uther gasped for breath, clawing at his throat as he inhaled deep breaths of air.

 “I can _See_ , Uther. I realised that my bad dreams weren’t dreams at all, they were omens. They were the future that _you_ tried to stop me from seeing.”

“It was for your protection-” Uther croaked, reaching for a goblet of wine. Morgana batted the wine away from him with ease, straight at Lily. She winced as the wine hit her rich dress, soaking through the fabric and staining it.

 _Stay still,_ Lily thought, _survive._

“I met people who _cared_ for me Uther,” she said coldly, “they told me who my real father is: you.”

Lily stifled her gasp. It was one thing to name Arthur as her brother in name, it was another to accuse the King of infidelity. The legends were never clear on Morgana’s parentage, but it was generally accepted that she was not one of the royal bloodline, at least not directly.

“ _You_ ,” Morgana hissed, “you were my father, yet your pride got in the way didn’t it? Camelot couldn’t _have_ a _King_ who had a daughter they didn’t know about. I couldn’t be _recognised_ for the _princess_ I was. No matter that I would have to suffer in the shadows whilst you piled _glory_ and _honour_ onto Arthur. No matter that my heart _bled_ when you refused to love me like a daughter.”

“You drove me down the path I now walk Uther,” Morgana said, staring directly into Uther’s eyes. Uther could barely form words, his voice weak by whatever spell Morgana had used. His gaze glanced upwards towards the crown which was nestled in Morgana’s raven black hair.

“Even now all you care about is _this_ ,” She pointed to the crown that sat on her head, “that is _all_ you _ever_ care about. You kill those with magic for being evil, but it is _you_ who is the evil one Uther. You killed innocent people, you _hid_ , you _cowered_ behind your castle walls because you were scared. You are too cowardly to even accept your own _daughter_.” Morgana spat the last word at Uther, her eyes filled with rage and agony.

“You killed my people,” Uther croaked, “you bewitched a guard and came into the heart of _my_ kingdom!”

“Moray was someone who needed direction,” Morgana spat, “not encouragement. There are so many more who would be willing to destroy you, your allies, and your kingdom.”

“And you?” Uther asked. Lily thought he looked almost apologetic. A father who had failed in his task to raise his children.

“I want to watch you _burn_ ,” Morgana spat at Uther, “and I will support anyone who wants to watch you burn as well.”

x-x-x

James felt panic.

“She’ll be all right, Prongs,” Sirius said, although his face didn’t look it. Remus sat next to him, looking equally distraught.

The screams of the courtiers who were all in the cells was almost deafening. James could see their arms sticking out between the cell bars, waving frantically to attract the guard’s attention.

“I know,” James said. Amongst the screams, he could just about make out the sound of Arthur’s voice in the next cell, grumbling to Merlin about Morgana.

The knights were held down in the cells, although James was not sure where. He wasn’t sure if it was stupidity or lack of leadership but even _he_ knew that not splitting the knights up would be bad news.

“Can’t we try the locks again?” Sirius said, scrambling towards the bars.

“Sirius, don’t bother,” James said, “we’re just going to piss off the guards and get our arses handed to us. Again.”

Sirius screwed up his face in disagreement, banging on the cell bars with his fist.

“Maybe we could try and get the guards down here,” Sirius suggested, “nick a key and then let ourselves out?”

“And then what?” James asked, “we can’t just barge in with all guns blazing.”

Sirius pointed to the wall, behind which was Merlin and Arthur’s cell.

“Merlin’s pretty powerful,”

“You heard what Uther said,” James said, “he’d have our heads if we did magic. It’s safe for us, and for Lily, if we stay hidden.”

An almighty crash broke through the screaming, replacing it with the shouts from the guards. James pressed his face to the bars, peering around the corner to try and get sight of where the guards had been sitting.

Their bodies lay on the ground. A figure cloaked in black stood above them.

“Oh, Merlin’s beard,” James said, stepping back from the bars. He pulled his wand from the end of his sleeve, backing up into the small shadow that lay at the back of the cell.

The courtiers cried for help, thinking the black figure was their salvation.

“What if it’s Moray?” Sirius whispered, watching the shadows outside of the cell. There was just one, of the man in the black cloak, standing motionless and thin in the torchlight.

Then it began to move.

“Let’s think positive,” James said, “we got out last time. We can get out this time.”

The black cloaked figure’s shadow became shorter and shorter as they walked down the corridor of cells. James felt his heart pound in his throat as the cloaked figure stopped directly outside of their cells.

“Who are you?” Arthur demanded from his cell. The figure laughed, a deep, gravely laugh that sent shivers down the back of James’ spine.

“I am here to help you,” the figure replied, “unfortunately.”

James could almost hear a sarcastic undertone to the voice.

 _Merlin’s beard where have I heard that?_ James thought.

“Wonderful,” Arthur said dryly, “and you are going to do that how? How do I know to trust you?”

“They will vouch for me,” the figure said, as a long, spindly finger shot out of the end of his robes and pointed directly to James.

“I don’t think we know you,” Sirius remarked, “we don’t need your help.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that, Black,” the figure spat.

James could feel Sirius’ freeze in fear.

“How do you know my name?” Sirius asked.

“Like I know his is _Potter_ ,” the figure said, pointing at James, “because I know you, sadly for me. I’ve had the misfortune of having to interact with you during my life. Unfortunately for me, I have an agreement to uphold which means I must get _you all_ out of these cells. _Bloody_ Benefactors.”

“Show us your face,” Arthur commanded. James could hear the frustration entering his voice.

“As you wish Princeling,” the figure snapped, pale white hands reaching up and pulling back the hood from his face.

A man in his thirties appeared from under the hood, skin stretched over a skeletal face with hooded eyes that looked almost like a caricature. There was a deep purple scar that ran up the side of the man’s neck, spreading out like a spider’s web along the man’s blood vessels. However, it was the long nose that spouted from the man’s face, and the snarl the man wore on his lips that James placed immediately.

 _How on earth,_ James thought.

Their saviour was none other than Severus Snape.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This has been a beast of a chapter, having kept me chained to the writing document for nearly two months. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you to all of you who have taken the time to leave a kudos or comment, it really means the world to read your thoughts!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own HP or Merlin.

_He stands on the edge of a riverbank._

_He looks confused, his eyes dart around him as he tries to gain the bearings of his surroundings, trying to work out where he is._

_His hand reaches up and touches his neck. He feels the cut, the gouge where the snake bit him._

_Then he remembers._

_The snake had bit him, its jaws closing around his flesh like a vice. He remembers the pain, the searing pain that had raged through his body._

_Then he remembers the eyes, the green eyes,_ her _eyes._

_He looks down at himself. He sees that he wears his old coat, the one with the patches on the elbows. The sleeves are slightly too long for his arms, and he turns up the ends of the sleeves so he can see his pale hands._

_Young hands._

_He realises that he is not a man here, but a boy; the same age as when he had first gone to Hogwarts._

_Yet, he realises, he still has the wound made from the snake._

_His eyes dart across the landscape as he thinks, the black pupils untrusting to anything they see. He realises that this must be some sort of dream, where he can be both a boy yet with the scars he gained as a man._

_The afterlife, he assumes._

_He has never considered what the afterlife would be like. He never dreamed of the beyond, he never asked what lay after death’s doors. He is not surprised or shocked about this revelation, he just accepts it as the fact it is._

_Then he notices the line._

_The line weaves and snakes around the fields around him, made up of people who are all patiently queuing, their grey spectral selves staring into nothingness._

_There is no colour here, just shades of grey._

_The line is long, far longer than he can imagine. Yet for some reason, this does not bother him. He just simply knows that he_ has _to join the line, wait in the queue for whatever lies next in his journey._

_He takes a step forward, behind the last man in the line. Being only a boy in this world means that the man in front of him towers over him, making him feel small and insignificant._

_His hand reaches up and touches the wound again._

_Time passes, how much he does not know. There is no way to measure time here, no turning of the seasons or hours on a clock. Time passes, and those standing in the line don’t notice it sweeping by. They stand stock still, sometimes shuffling forward to inch closer to their destination._

_He does not know how long it takes, but he soon sees that the line ends ahead of him. Peeking around the huge man standing before him, his long hair blocks his face and he has to brush it away with a hand. Before him he sees a dark figure, blacker than the blackest of blacks he has ever seen, standing out even in the dreary world of grey. Fear grips him as he sees each person in the queue hand the dark figure something, a coin, before stepping forward onto a boat. Then they cross the river, or what he assumes to be a river, towards the mysterious destination that lies beyond._

_He quickly gets back into line, his hands frantically going though his pockets. ‘_ I don’t have any money’ _he thinks to himself, ‘_ Da never gave me any money’ _. However hard he tries, the boy cannot find any money in the pockets of his coat._

_The queue moves forward._

_Soon he finds himself facing the dark figure. Those ahead of him have given their coin have got onto a boat and crossed the river. Those that have not have fallen into the river._

_He couldn’t hear their screams, but he saw the pain and raw agony on their faces as the waters consumed them._

_The boy looks up at the dark figure, his whole body trembling. The dark hood covers the figure’s face, leaving only a black void in which the boy’s mind supplies a horrible face covered in evil and malice._

_“Severus Snape,” the figure says; the voice slicing through the boy as he was addressed, “your coin.”_

_A skeletal hand stretched forward out of the cape, asking for payment._

_The boy stands still in fear, unable to reply._

_“Boatman,” another voice says. The dark figure turns around and hisses in annoyance._

_A woman walks out of the grey landscape. She is different, the boy notices, for she is not different shades of grey. She wears a white dress, with a rope belt, and her yellow hair falls around her face._

_Her eyes are green._

_The boy hungrily drinks in the sight of the green eyes, the sight of which has rekindled a passion, his love for the girl of his dreams._

_The woman continued to walk forward, her eyes boring into the boy. When the figure, the Boatman, tries to stop her, she only needs to give a glance to stop the skeletal hands threatening her._

_“Severus Snape,” the woman asks. The boy looks at her with desperation and hope._ ‘Here is my salvation’ _he thinks as the woman bends down to his height._

_“What would you do to see Lily Evans again?” she asks him._

_The boy stammers, his heart pounding fast as he quickly breaths in reply;_

_“Anything.”_

_The woman smiles and holds out her hand. The boy takes it with a smile. She smells of honey and lemon, he notes absently._

_The Boatman growls, but the woman pulls herself up to her full height and tells the figure;_

_“I will return him when I have finished.”_

_The Boatman hisses, his skeletal hands flexing in anger. However the woman seems not to notice, as she leads the boy, Severus Snape, out of the line. With each step he feels like new life is breathed into him, he feels stronger with every heartbeat._

_“Who are you?” Severus asks._

_The woman turned, her blonde hair framing her face as she smiles with full red lips._

_“Call me Cassandra.”_

x-x-x

 “How did you get here?”

“Why are you old?”

“Why are you _really_ old?”

“He’s not _that_ old Prongs,”

“He’s like 89!”

“He looks at least thirty, he might be Snape but give him _some_ credit for his skin routine”

Sirius and James’ bickering didn’t help the situation in the slightest. Merlin had slunk back behind Arthur, watching the newcomer with interest. He held a presence that was haunting, if Merlin were to find one word to describe it. There wasn’t the evil nature that he had seen in Moray, or the desperate cry for attention and love that had come from Morgana. This was a presence that came from someone who knew the limits of their power, but they knew how to use them with deadly effect.

“Who are you?” Arthur repeated. Merlin could note the distrust in Arthur’s tone.

“He’s Snivallus,” Sirius shouted from the cells. The person gave Sirius a dark look.

 _Maybe not lacking in some evil,_ Merlin thought. There was hatred he could see in the dim light, a hatred that would be enough to watch someone die and do nothing about it.

“Who,” Arthur said, biting his words as he got more frustrated, “are you?”

“My name,” the person said, “is Severus Snape. I was sent here by a benefactor who is very interested in you not _dying_.”

Merlin spotted Arthur tapping his fingers against the outside of his leg. It was his tick when he didn’t trust someone.

“And how do you know my friends?” Arthur asked.

“Because he’s an arse,” Sirius shouted from the other cell, “although older than I remember him.”

“We attended the same school,” Severus replied, glaring at Sirius, “although I fear in a different time. They are far less mature than I remember.”

“Far _less_ mature?” James shouted, “you’re hardly mature. You’re _old_.”

“Who wants us to be free?” Arthur

“A woman named Cassandra,” Severus said, “I believe you know her.”

Merlin’s interested picked up.

 _Cassandra?_ He thought, _but she died. And why would she bring a person from the future to save us?_

“She’s dead,” James said.

 _Eloquently put,_ Merlin thought.

“You will come to learn that death, like time, is not necessarily linear,” Severus said, “now if you will please stand back-”

“You can’t break it,” James said, “Merlin has already _tried_.”

“You don’t need brute force if you have a key to the door,” Severus said, as he drew what Merlin assumed was his wand from his robe, and flicked it at the doors.

With a _click_ they opened.

“Thank you,” Arthur said, as Sirius shouted, “arse,” at the same time.

“You’re welcome,” Severus said, “now we must leave.”

“How do we know you’re not in league with Morgana?” Arthur asked. Merlin could see Severus pause, just slightly. Arthur was used to intimidating kings, he knew how to use his voice to convey obedience.

“I am not,” he said, gesturing over to James, Sirius and Remus, “because they know me.”

“You’re asking us?” James said, “to vouch for _you_. You’re old.”

“He doesn’t look _that_ old,” Remus said.

“ _Old,_ ” James said, “who knows what kind of crap you got up to after school. You were weird enough during it.”

“I’ll remember that for future reference,” Severus replied dryly, “at least I might.”

Merlin frowned, confused. There was something that wasn’t quite _right_ about this Severus, and it wasn’t that Merlin thought he was in league with Morgana.

“That’s not helping your case,” Arthur said, taking a step forward towards Severus. Severus held his ground, tilting his head down slightly like a teach would an unruly child.

“I am not in league with her,” Severus growled, “because she locked you up. If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead. If she wanted you to leave and rot in here, she would have. That is the best assurance I can give you, Arthur Pendragon, and that you will just have to accept.”

Arthur tapped his fingers against his leg again. Merlin stepped out of the cell, standing next to Arthur to get a better look at the Severus character.

Arthur gave him a quick glance, an unsaid question of trust.

 _Do you trust him?_ The look said.

Merlin nodded slightly.

“Fine,” Arthur said, “I’ll take your word on it. But know this, wizard, if you betray me or my friends I will kill you.”

“Don’t worry,” Severus said, “if you don’t I’m sure Sirius and James would be delighted to finish me off for you.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Sirius said, flatly.

“I’m not,” Severus replied, “now, shall we leave?”

x-x-x

When Severus saw James Potter’s young face appear from the darkness of his cell, he was suddenly in another place.

_Cassandra said this would happen, she called them flash forwards. What he was doing here was re-writing time itself. That had affects that would impact his memories as his life was being re-written with every moment he breathed. Severus tried to collect himself, the moment would pass soon, he was sure of that._

_He was standing in the remains of a house, one he did not recognise. A baby was crying upstairs, its loud cry echoing through the empty building._

_“Harry!” a voice, Lily’s voice, screamed, as a young Lily stormed through the door, wand at the ready. She sprinted up the stairs, what remained of them, not caring about her safety as she ran towards the sound of the crying baby. James Potter followed her, running past Severus as if he wasn’t there._

_Of course he wasn’t. This wasn’t real._

“Why are you so old?” Black asked. Severus snapped back into reality, back to Camelot, shaking away the vision that had previously stolen his consciousness. Black was as old as Potter was, both of them barely eighteen. They still had the egotistical youth that came with not knowing what future lay ahead for them.

 _Wait,_ Severus thought, _James Potter died, didn’t he? Or maybe he did?_

Cassandra warned him about this too. He couldn’t trust his memories, after all who could trust something that destiny itself was re-writing?

“Who,” the blond man said from the cell, “are you?”

“My name,” Severus said, trying not to get frustrated with their little group, “is Severus Snape. I was sent here by a benefactor who is very interested in you not _dying_.”

“And how do you know my friends?” the blond man asked. Severus assumed he must be Arthur Pendragon from the level of pretentiousness that was in his voice.

“Because he’s an arse,” Black shouted from the other cell, “although older than I remember him.”

 _Older?_ Severus thought. He was older, well not that old. He couldn’t actually _remember_ how old he was this time. The wound on his neck throbbed, he couldn’t remember where he got it from. A snake? But the scar was not new, it was something he got in his youth.

 _Not my problem,_ Severus thought, _Lily is my problem. I have to save her. Cassandra promised me to see her one final time._

“We attended the same school,” Severus replied flatly, sneering down his nose like he would do to the first years when they entered his potions classroom, “although I fear in a different time. They are far less _mature_ than I remember.”

“Far _less_ mature?” James shouted, “you’re hardly mature. You’re _old_.”

“Who wants us to be free?” Arthur said. Black continued to spew profanities from his cell. He really wasn’t that much different when Severus knew him as older.

“A woman named Cassandra,” Severus said, “I believe you know her.”

“She’s dead,” James said.

 “You will come to learn that death, like time, is not necessarily linear,” Severus said, “now if you will please stand back-”

“You can’t break it,” James said, “Merlin has already _tried_.”

 _Merlin?_ Severus looked at the scrawny thin man behind Arthur, _the history books made him out to be far more than he was._

“You don’t need brute force if you have a key to the door,” Severus said, as he drew his wand from his robe, and flicked it at the doors. It was a simple spell Cassandra had taught him, but one that was spoken in the ancient magics of this land.

With a _click_ they opened.

“Thank you,” Arthur said, as he stepped out of the cell.

“You’re welcome,” Severus said, narrowing his eyes as Potter and Black stepped out of their cell, “now we must leave.”

The third boy stepped out from behind Potter and Black made Severus almost jump.

In that instant, the world melted away.

 _No,_ Severus thought, _not again._

_This time he stood inside a rickety shack, the shrieking shack, if his memory served him right. A younger version of him stood at the door, wand pointed towards Remus Lupin, professor at Hogwarts. He remembered this moment, at least he thought he did. The three children stood huddled on the other side of the room, the ginger haired one in pain from a clear broken leg. The girl, she stood fiercely protecting her friend. And at the front, a younger version of James Potter, this one his child, grown up and having a fierce fight with Sirius Black._

And then, in that instant, Severus was back. Arthur looked at him with expectation in his eyes. Merlin looked at him with curiosity.

 _They didn’t notice,_ Severus thought, _I can’t have been out for long_.

“We need to get the remainder of the courtiers out of here,” Arthur said, “get them to safety.”

“That is not the priority,” Severus remarked.

“I wasn’t asking your permission,” Arthur said, stepping into Severus’ personal space, “that was a command. I don’t know who you are or where you are from, but you are in the Kingdom of Camelot and that means you follow my orders.”

Severus fought the urge to roll his eyes. This Arthur would be another useless Gryffindor with that much buffoonery.

“Fine,” Severus said, “I assume you will have someone escort them?”

“The knights will do as I command,” Arthur said, walking past Severus to the cells where the knights were being held. They kicked off cheers once they saw their Prince outside of the cells.

Severus rolled his eyes this time.

“Fine,” he muttered, as he strode towards the cell and flicked the lock open on the door. The knights came out of the cell, clapping Arthur on the back and looking Severus up and down distrustfully.

 _What does someone have to do around here to gain a little respect?_ Severus thought. He could hear James and Sirius bickering behind him, but he chose to ignore it. It was irritating enough to have to deal with the child that James created, let alone the 17 year old version of James Potter. Severus had made a point of avoiding the insufferable “Marauders” when he had reached his latter years at Hogwarts.

 _That and I had been drawn towards other things,_ Severus thought. He was not one for regret, nor for dwelling on decisions made in the past, but the decisions that his seventeen year old self had made were not ones he was proud of. It had sucked his life towards a goal that eventually had killed him.

Severus resisted the urge to touch the scar on his neck. He could still remember Nagini’s bite, he could remember the Potter boy looking down on him as he died. He still remembered _dying,_ for Merlin’s sake, and standing in the queue to be ferried across to the other side by the Boatman.

But he also remembered another history, one that he could just about make out. There were tendrils of happiness attached to those memories, happiness that he had not experienced before. Cassandra had said that his two timelines would start to converge, one overwriting the other.

Cassandra might have tempted him with seeing Lily one more time before he died, but Severus was beginning to think that what he was doing here was _re-writing_ history for her.

 _And maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to save myself from the decisions I made all those years ago,_ Severus thought.

“Severus?” Arthur asked, “can you open the other cells?”

Severus snapped out of his thoughts sharply. Merlin was now standing next to Arthur, peering at him curiously with sharp eyes. Severus did not like the feeling, it was as if Merlin could discern all of his secrets with a mere look.

He survived on secrets. That was his life.

 _Maybe not for much longer,_ Severus thought.

“Yes,” he replied, spinning on his heel and attending to the first cell. The courtiers inside looked at him like one would a rabid dog, with both terror and disgust. Severus smiled at them as he performed the spell. If one could not get enjoyment for what one was doing, then he wouldn’t be a Slytherin. It was for Gryffindor’s to be noble, it was a Slytherin’s place to do what was right for them.

The door clicked open, and Severus moved to the next cell to repeat the same spell. Arthur took over managing the courtiers, who were all too terrified to make a noise. It was not long before all the courtiers were released, and were herded like sheep by the Knights through the dungeons. It was likely that Morgana had placed other people on the route out, so the entire contingent of Knights were to herd the group to safety.

“Thank you for that,” Arthur said. Severus kept his face blank, only nodding towards the stairs.

 _Let’s get on with this,_ Severus thought. Lily was in danger, and he had some time he wanted to re-write.

“Yes,” Arthur’s face darkened at Severus’ gesture, “let us deal with my sister.”

x-x-x

Sirius disliked quite a few people. He hated his family, he hated Slytherins in general, he didn’t really like Uther that much.

But the one person who he hated more than _anything_ was Severus Snape.

Remus was trying to keep him calm, Sirius knew that. Remus had a way of dialling back James and Sirius’ pranks on Snape to try and prevent any serious injury, and he knew what anger would be bubbling underneath Sirius’ skin.

If he was honest, it wasn’t _Snape_ that he hated, it was what he represented. It was the slimy, greasy Slytherin outlook that his family had been so disappointed that he had not shown. It was the fact that Snape was the kind of boy that his mother would have loved, and that his father would have been proud of. Even little Regulus would come home prancing about how Snape, the outsider, the loner of Sirius’ year, was still more of a human being than he was.

So Sirius hated Snape. Which meant that James hated Snape. Which in turn meant that Remus had an intense disliking of Snape, and Peter would generally go along with the group consensus as to who was an arse or not.

This Snape was old, like, _properly_ old. James couldn’t see it, he said that Sirius was just exaggerating, but Sirius could _see_ the old man lines that laced their way down Snape’s face. He could see the age in the way Snape moved, the way his voice sounded. He was as old as Dumbledore and no one was going to sway his view on this.

 _The only thing he_ doesn’t _have is the grey hair,_ Sirius thought. Maybe it was some weird effect of whatever brought Snape into the past that meant his greasy hair was still black, and still greasy. Or maybe that was how the human species _Severus Snapion_ evolved.

Sirius was still sticking to the fact that Snape was not a member of humanity. Maybe something out Newt Scamander’s book of horrible creatures, but not _human_.

Sirius followed James’ back up the stairs out of the dungeons, hoping that Snape’s involvement would not be for long. Maybe he would just disappear. Maybe they would _all_ just disappear.

 _Maybe we’ll all just wake up and it’ll be a dream,_ he thought. He would never admit it out loud, but there was a tiny part of him that was terrified they was terrified that they were stuck in this time. Even if it had Merlin and Arthur, even if it was in _Camelot_ of all places, Sirius just wanted to go back to safety.

Their little queue stopped at the top of the stairs, as Snape turned to face their little group.

“The scene is … disturbing,” Snape said, looking directly at James, Sirius and Remus, “you might want to cover your eyes.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Sirius retorted. Remus elbowed him.

Snape smirked.

“You don’t know Morgana,” Merlin whispered from behind them, “this is not going to be good.”

Snape walked out of the top of the stairs, followed by Arthur, then James, Sirius and Remus with Merlin bringing up the rear. The corridor was narrow, with a slight slope that led up to the main castle. However, even down here, Sirius could smell the stench of death that hung in the air.

“Oh Merlin,” he swore, almost gagging at the smell. Snape, the smug, satisfied bastard, almost looked happy at Sirius’ discomfort.

“We must get to the throne room,” Arthur said, who seemed completely undeterred by the smell. Snape didn’t seem to notice it, but then with his un-human like tendencies it might not even register on his radar.

 “Follow me,” Arthur said, taking the lead as he walked down the corridor like a man possessed. The group followed him, apart from Merlin none of them would have a hope of finding the throne room in time.

Sirius muttered a spell under his breath that stopped his sense of smell from being as sensitive. The smell of copper blood disappeared instantly, making the walk more bearable, but it did not remove the sight of the dead bodies, nor their impact.

Sirius hadn’t seen someone _dead_ before, not like this, with their throat slit and body discarded on the floor like a toy. The guards were all like that, having been methodically murdered as Morgana had made her way to the throne room. Occasionally, there was a servant whose body was lying with the guards, having been caught in the moment and killed just to prevent them raising an alarm.

The number of dead rose as they got closer to the throne room. Sirius could see Remus was struggling with the amount of violence that had been committed, and James was struggling to keep his food in his stomach. There were stories of Voldemort that would keep them up at night at Hogwarts, and there were stories from the first wizarding war. But this was _here,_ in front of their _eyes._

Sirius almost walked into Snape’s back as their little group abruptly stopped at the end of the corridor. Arthur was holding his hand up, gesturing around the corner to where the noise of boots on the stone floor was gently echoing down the corridor.

“I’ll deal with it,” Snape whispered, before Arthur stopped him with a look.

“You will kill them,” Arthur said, the accusation clear, “no more death, not today.”

“They’ll make our approach known-”

“Merlin,” Arthur said, ignoring Snape, “make them go to sleep, or something?”

“Done,” Merlin said, pushing past Sirius, Remus and James and walking past Snape and around the corner.

A few seconds later, Sirius heard sound of two bodies dropping to the floor.

Merlin poked his head around the corner.

“They’re asleep for at least a day,” Merlin said, “anything more and their bodies wouldn’t cope with the spell, the exhaustion alone-”

“Let’s go,” Arthur said, his voice not leaving any room to negotiate. Merlin nodded, stepping aside to allow Arthur to take the lead. Sirius did not miss the glare that Merlin gave Snape as he walked past.

“You don’t like him either huh?” Sirius asked, as Merlin brought up the rear of their little group.

“I don’t like people dying unnecessarily,” Merlin said, “that’s all.”

They walked in silence past the sleeping guards, snaking their way through the castle towards the main throne room. Sirius gripped his wand tightly, trying not to think of the death that lay in the bloodied bodies that they had to step around.

He tried not to think about the kind of violence that Voldemort was currently raising. That would cause the same result.

After what seemed an age, Arthur stopped suddenly and gestured that they get up against the wall.

“What’s up?” James whispered next to Sirius.

“We’re here,” Merlin whispered.

 _We need to get Lily, and then get home,_ Sirius thought. Things were too dangerous, even for his liking. He might be a thrill seeker, but he wasn’t irresponsible, despite what his family continually said to him.

“We need to get in without being discovered,” Arthur said, looking at James, Sirius and Remus, “without _you_ being discovered.”

“You don’t care about Snape?” James said.

“My father hasn’t met him,” Arthur said, “he has met you. If you reveal your magic, he will kill you without a second thought.”

“I can make them invisible,” Snape said, “for a short while anyway. Enough for them to find cover and stay out of trouble.”

Sirius glared at Snape. Them to _stay out of trouble?_ Who was he to baby them? Snape couldn’t even decide his own damn age.

“Good,” Arthur nodded, “Merlin, I will engage my sister, you stay back unless things get bad.”

Merlin nodded.

“And you,” Arthur said, addressing Snape, “you can either leave us here or come with us. That’s your choice.”

“I’m staying,” Snape replied.

 _Shame,_ Sirius thought.

“Okay,” Arthur said, “make them invisible. Stay behind me. Do _not_ make things worse or I will be the first to string you up. Understand?”

“Perfectly,” Snape replied.

 _I like this guy,_ Sirius thought. He could almost _smell_ the distaste radiating from Snape.

“Wait here,” Arthur said, as he stepped out into the middle of the corridor, drawing his sword. The guards spotted him, drawing their own weapons.

“Whilst he’s busy,” Snape said, flicking his wand at James, Sirius and Remus. Sirius felt _something_ settle over him, not like the invisibility cloak but similar. It felt like the light itself wasn’t settling properly on him.

“You done?” Arthur said. Sirius pushed himself off from the wall to see the two guards lying unconscious on the floor.

“Yes,” Snape said, “are you?”

Arthur grunted, turning away from Snape and planting his foot on the doors to the main throne room and kicking them open.

 _I guess that means he is_ , Sirius thought, drawing his wand.

Now, they would fight.

x-x-x

Arthur kicked open the door to the throne room.

If he was honest, the fact that it actually _worked_ surprised him. He always left Percival to do the kicking-down-doors part of a mission, but he was _angry._ Angry that Morgana had left Camelot and was trying to usurp his father, angry at Uther for forcing Morgana to find a home outside of Camelot, and angry at himself for not noticing it sooner.

Morgana stood up from the throne, the crown sitting lopsided on her head. Next to her, Uther sat pale with fear as a dagger span lazily in front of his face. Gwen and Lily were attending to Morgana, standing behind her with huge jugs of wine as a servant would at a feast.

“What are you doing here?” Morgana spat, “ _brother_.”

“I want you to stop this,” Arthur said simply. He walked into the room, sizing up his sister in his mind. She could pull any number of tricks with her magic, but his gut told him that he would be safe.

And he had Merlin. Merlin would keep him safe.

“Stop this?” Morgana said, adjusting the crown on her head, “why would I do that?”

“Because if you do our father will grant you clemency.”

“ _Your_ father,” Morgana spat. The dagger stopped spinning.

Arthur froze.

“You don’t have anything you can give me, _brother,_ ” Morgana spat, “and where are your precious knights? Who have you brought into _my_ throne room?”

Arthur glanced to his left where Snape was standing, glowering at Morgana with an intense hatred that Arthur would never had expected from anyone who _didn’t_ know Morgana.

 _Who are you?_ Arthur thought.

“A friend,” Arthur said, glancing to his right were Merlin was standing literally a few feet behind him.

“And _you,_ ” Morgana spat at Merlin, “my brother’s right hand man.”

“Hello, Morgana,” Merlin said. Arthur shivered at the coldness in Merlin’s voice, it was like nothing he had Merlin say before. It sounded more like a threat than a response.

Morgana sneered, flicking her hand lazily in their direction. The high table fell over as if stuck by the hand of a giant, catapulting food and drink everywhere.

Arthur held his sword up, ready for a fight.

Morgana waved her hand again and the table rose into the air, tumbling around slowly.

“Goodbye,” Morgana said. With a gesture, the table suddenly stopped spinning and came hurtling towards them at such speed that Arthur barely had time to react-

With a _bang_ the table was transformed into hundreds of tiny butterflies.

Arthur gaped in amazement as the butterflies rose to the top of the throne room, swirling like a flock of starlings before finding the nearest open window and flying outside.

“You,” Morgana spat in Snape’s direction, “you can do magic?”

Snape smiled. Arthur smiled as well.

“Not me,” Snape said, with a delightful glee in his voice, “him.”

Morgana looked at Merlin with shock and horror. Even Uther managed to look even more terrified than he had moments previously.

“You,” Morgana said, “you _stay_ with these people? You would rather die by their side than realise your full potential?”

“It is my destiny to do so,” Merlin replied, stepping up next to Arthur. Arthur didn’t miss the slight glimmer of gold in Merlin’s eyes, “leave these people alone, Morgana. They have done nothing to you.”

“ _Nothing?_ ” Morgana spat, pointing at Uther “they have belittled and killed our kind. _He_ has obliterated magic from this Kingdom and you expect me to say that he has done _nothing to me?_ ”

“He can atone for his past mistakes,” Merlin said, “as can you.”

“Me?” Morgana laughed. Arthur shivered, it didn’t sound like the woman he had grown up with at all.

“You,” Merlin said, taking a step closer to Morgana, “let them go, and you will be safe.”

“What power do you have?” Morgana said.

“You have my word,” Arthur said, lowering his sword, just slightly, “my word that you will be safe.”

Morgana looked between Arthur and Merlin with wild panic in her eyes.

“Let Uther go,” Merlin said, “and we will keep you safe.”

Morgana snarled.

“Fine,” she said. She gestured with her hand, causing the dagger to come to her outstretched hand.

Uther visibly relaxed.

“You can have him,” Morgana said, flicking her fingers. Uther was catapulted out of the chair, straight towards the floor where he stopped, hovering inches above the ground, before settling gently on the floor.

Merlin’s eyes changed back from golden to hazel.

Arthur held his breath, he could see Morgana was still stewing with anger. Gwen and Lily stood behind her, frozen in fear.

“Let’s up the stakes,” Morgana said, “as you don’t care for the king.”

With a gesture of her hand, Lily’s jug was thrown out of her hands. The liquid flew through the air, before hitting the three invisible figures that had been sneaking around the back of the table to get to Lily and Gwen.

Arthur froze. Luckily, Morgana did not notice the way the wine dripped down the edges of the invisible James, Sirius and Remus. Instead, she grabbed Lily by the shoulder, pulling Lily in front of her and placing the knife to her throat.

“Your move, brother,” Morgana said, “you take a step forward, your little friend here dies.”

x-x-x

The first thing that Lily saw when the doors bust open was not Arthur or Merlin, but Sev.

She struggled to keep the shock off her face, it was _Sev._ Older, or not so, Lily wasn’t really sure, but it was him. She would recognise the hooked nose and piecing gaze anywhere.

 _What happened to you?_ Lily thought, _Why are you here?_

He looked ill, if she was honest. There was a purple scar which ran up the side of his neck, from which bruises radiated outwards. There was an age to his steps, like he was an old man, but his face looked like he was barely in his thirties.

But his eyes. His eyes told of a flatness, a void of emotion that Lily had first seen in their fifth year, when he had started talking to the followers of You-Know-Who.

She didn’t even register the conversation, apart from when Morgana flipped the table in the air at Arthur, Sev and Merlin. The noise of the table, the _bang_ of it transforming into a hundred butterflies, caught her attention.

The silence that followed lasted mere seconds. However, it was enough for Lily to hear the gentle whistling that came from her left. It was a tune she knew, her favourite song, and a favourite for James to whistle across the Gryffindor common room to annoy her.

She gripped the jug tighter, trying not to look over her shoulder. Where James was, Sirius and Remus would follow in a heartbeat. The three of them had be invisible, they _had_ to be. They would have come up with Arthur and Merlin.

The jug was pulled out of her hands by an invisible string, making Lily yelp in shock. Then, before she could really register what was happening, she was pulled in front of Morgana and a dagger was placed at her throat.

Panic made time slow down. It was as if she could notice things that she had previously missed. Uther’s ragged breathing on the floor, Arthur’s raised sword, and Merlin’s closed fists.

“Your move, brother,” Morgana said, whispering the sentence into Lily’s ear, “you take a step forward, your little friend here dies.”

“Let her go,” Sev said, taking out his wand.

 _No, don’t approach,_ Lily thought, squeezing her eyes shut. She could _feel_ the knife sitting next to her skin, so close to killing her.

 _I want to go home,_ she thought, _I don’t want to die._

“Stay back,” Morgana warned. Lily could hear Sev’s footsteps stop, for a moment, before starting again.

“Put her down,” Sev said. Lily was surprised at how cold he sounded, nothing like the boy she had grown up with. This man was someone who you hid from, that you ran from.

Lily opened her eyes, just a crack. Arthur was kneeling next to his father, whilst Merlin watched Morgana with thinly veiled distrust.

Sev just stared at her like she was the answer to life itself.

 _Oh Sev,_ Lily thought, _what happened to you?_

The way he acted told Lily that he was broken. It was the kind of disregard for safety that one gave when one did not care about their own life anymore.

“Put her down,” Sev repeated. He stopped, barely three feet in front of Morgana. His gaze snapped away from Lily, looking next to her head where Morgana was watching Sev with interest.

“Get out of my mind,” she hissed, “you have _not right_ to go inside my mind.”

“Trying to hide something?” Snape remarked dryly.

“Have you ever seen true evil?” Morgana spat, tapping her head, “because that’s what is in there. According to those who rule over us.”

The knife pressed slightly harder into Lily’s throat. Lily froze, not wanting to move, not even breathing.

“Don’t talk to me about evil,” Sev countered, “I’ve worked at the hand of evil, and I know it when I see it. You’re lost and confused with nowhere to turn.”

Sev looked back at Lily, for the briefest of moments.

“That isn’t evil,” Sev said, “that’s selfishness.”

Morgana pulled the dagger away from Lily’s throat, lunging for Sev. Sev was faster, however, grabbing Morgana’s wrist and _popping_ out of the room. The sound of someone disappariting so close to Lily made her yelp in shock.

Then nothing.

Lily stumbled to her knees, crying, as her ears rung loudly. She shook as the shock and relief flooded through her, flooding out of her through her tears.

 _I almost died,_ Lily thought.

“I’ve got you,” James whispered from behind her. Lily felt his arms pull her close, the wine still wet on his clothes. Slowly, the invisibility spell wore off, and James, Sirius and Remus appeared around her.

“What happened?” Lily asked, “why was Sev here?”

James, for once, had enough tact not to take the piss out of Sev.

“I don’t know,” he replied, “I truly don’t know anymore.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you to all who have taken the time to leave kudos or a comment on the previous chapter, I really do cherish them all.
> 
> Also thanks to whoever updated the TV Tropes rec page for this fic!! It is nice to know that there is still interest for this story all those years later!

_He falls._

_Bright lights engulf him. He doesn’t know where he is, or what is happening. He hears a voice instructing him that he must get to Camelot, and that he must return before the sun sets over the sea. He feels a hand placing a coin into his pocket, and he smells honey and lemon. Then the bright lights fade, leaving him in darkness._

_The scene shifts._

_He stops falling, the darkness fades, and he feels solid ground beneath him._

_He is standing in a field._

_He knows this is a dream, for he is a young boy again wearing his coat that has holes in the sleeves._

_"Hello Severus," a voice says behind him._

_Severus turns around suddenly, brandishing his wand in defence. This is not real, this is a memory. Or is it? He isn’t so good with his memories right now. They keep slipping out of his hands like water through a sieve._

_"It's only me," Cassandra says waving her hand._

_Severus s wand disappears._

_"To see your friend," Cassandra tells him, smiling brightly, "you need to save five people from the dungeons, for only they will be able to take you to your precious Lily Evans."_

_"Who?" Severus asks eagerly, even though he knows how this plays out. It is like a dream, a dream where the plot has already been written._

_He cannot change the past._

_"Arthur, Merlin, and James Potter and his friends," Cassandra says._

_Severus gasps at Cassandra;_

_"No, not James Potter I won't-"_

_His throat locks up in a fit of pain. Severus claws at his throat, the long coat sleeves flapping against his skin._

_"You said that you would do anything to see Lily Evans," Cassandra says. Her voice becomes dark, it holds no room for questioning._

_He must follow her commands._

_"Medusa?" Severus asks. He had hoped, he had feared, that her other alternate personality would appear, would kill him._

_He doesn’t want to die. Not again._

_His neck throbs._

_"No fool," Cassandra spits, stepping towards Severus so she stands mere inches away, locking his gaze, "Medusa is long gone."_

_"I don't want to help-" Severus begins again, only for his voice to seize up on him a second time, his throat burnt like he had just drunk the most potent firewhiskey ever made._

_"You gave your oath," Cassandra sneers, "that you would do anything to see Lily Evans again. That oath is powered by magic that is more powerful than you could even imagine. It stops you now from backing down on your word. Whether you like it or not you_ must _save them."_

_Severus looks at Cassandra with narrow slits, fuming silently at the woman._

_"You have manipulated me," Severus states._

_"Don't we all?" Cassandra replies with a smirk on her lips as she turns away from Severus, “as well as saving them, you must save Morgana as well.”_

Morgana, _Severus thinks,_ the famous powerful sorceress of her time?

_Glancing back, Cassandra smiles at Severus and says;_

_"That coin I gave you can be a protection as well."_

_She disappears into a mist._

_The ground disappears under Severus’ feet instantly. He screams as he falls into darkness, then into light, then into a kaleidoscope of colours like he is apparating-_

Severus Snape wakes up just before he hits the ground, hard.

x-x-x

Merlin woke up on a cold, hard bed.

He groaned, rolling over his shoulder which caused shooting pains to stab along his arm. He could feel every muscle complain as he moved, the cold permeating his bones.

 _Down here it is never warm,_ Merlin thought.

The dungeons were somewhere that Merlin had visited enough times to know his way around, but not enough to justify a more serious sentence.

“Not this time,” he muttered. The words echoed off the cold stone walls, dissipating into the air around him. Through the small window in the corner of his cell, he could see the stars twinkling outside in the night sky. They were so distant, and yet comforting. Many nights he had stared at the stars, both as a child and on his first trip to Camelot. They were reminders of a better time, a time of hope and destiny.

Now, now was different. He might have been accused of magic before, he might have been thrown in prison before, but now was different.

Uther knew. The whole of Camelot knew.

Everyone knew.

Merlin threw his legs off the side of his cold bed and onto the stone floor beneath. It was lucky that he had a cell with a bed, normally it was just straw and dirt that kept him company overnight. However, Arthur had fought his father tooth and nail, and had managed to get Merlin placed in the cell which normally kept dissenting nobles rather than magical commoners.

 _Not that it makes much difference,_ Merlin thought to himself. He had been placed in the furthest cell away from the main corridor, under heavy guard duty. The guards outside of his cell barely look at him, they didn’t even talk to one another.

 _What fear does to you I suppose,_ Merlin sighed and stood up in his cell and began to pace from one wall to the other.

Three steps, that was how wide his cell was. He had worked that out in his first hour of captivity. He could manage at least one hundred steps before the constant turning made him dizzy and he had to sit down again.

There was literally no route out of this that didn’t end in Merlin dying. The charges against him were for magic against the King, with the King as his witness. He was blamed for Morgana’s entrance, for Severus’ dramatic escape, and for the radical re-appearance of the four “guests” who Uther thought had appeared from thin air when Severus’ invisibility spell had worn off.

He was going to die in two days time, unless Arthur thought of a way to get him free.

 _Plenty of time to think then,_ Merlin thought.

Severus disappearing with Morgana was a puzzle he was yet to solve. Morgana’s motive was easy, she wanted revenge on Uther. She wanted power, and she wanted an audience. Her motives over the years had been easier to read, and so her attacks easier to predict.

This one, however, was different. It was as if someone had given her access to get into Camelot, or at least, cause havoc in Camelot.

_Severus._

He had no loyalty to Arthur, and had an intent distrust of the four time travellers. But what Merlin didn’t understand was why he would want to _help_ Morgana, because it would give him nothing in return. And he mentioned that Cassandra had been behind this, that she was the reason why he had let them out of the cells.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Merlin said. One of the guards glanced nervously at him.

 _Probably thinks I’m cursing them,_ Merlin thought.

Cassandra was the unknown piece in the puzzle. They had been led to Moray’s lair by Morgana, who had wanted them out of Camelot so that she could try and seize control. They had been saved by Cassandra, who was supposedly dead, and who had somehow sent Snape to save them _again._ But Cassandra wouldn’t benefit from them being saved, Snape certainly didn’t benefit from them being saved from the way he looked in distain at James, Sirius and Remus.

 _So what is your motive?_ Merlin thought, sitting down heavily on the cold bed.

He would have enough time to work it out. It would be a fitting way to spend it last two days.

_Please, Arthur, tell me you have a plan._

x-x-x

Arthur swore that if Gwaine didn’t stop throwing the apple up and down in the air he was personally going to throw it out of a _window_.

His father’s mood had set the tone for the whole of Camelot’s mood – sombre, annoyed, terrified. It was as if fear gripped the corridors of the castle, spreading out down into the streets. There were rumours that Merlin had enchanted the King, other rumours that Morgana and Merlin were collaborating to take the throne from _Arthur_. There were some, probably started by the released courtiers, that spoke of a man with greasy black hair who had threatened Arthur’s life.

Everyone knew who Merlin was now. Everyone _thought_ they knew the true facts.

They were wrong. And Arthur was determined to _prove_ them wrong.

“Why didn’t he tell us?” Lancelot asked, frowning. He also seemed to be annoyed by Gwaine’s apple.

“For the same reason why you don’t reveal your heritage,” Arthur replied, “or Gwaine doesn’t explain how he was banished numerous times.”

“Twice,” Gwaine replied, throwing the apple up in the air again. Percival snatched it out of the air as soon as Gwaine had thrown it, taking a bit out of it and glaring at Gwaine.

“I was just fiddling,” Gwaine shrugged.

“It was getting annoying,” Percival said, taking another bite of the apple.

“That still doesn’t help him get out of the cell,” Leon said, “or trying to go against your father’s orders.”

“I know,” Arthur sighed.

“And it doesn’t help the fact that the four people you brought into Camelot are _also_ sorcerers,” Elyan said, “if your father ever finds out-”

“I _know_ ,” Arthur said, pushing the heel of his palm into his forehead. _God_ this was a stupid, ridiculous situation and one that needed resolving _fast_.

Which was why he had asked for the help of his closest friends to assist him. They followed his word, not his father’s, and were the few people left in this castle who could be trusted with the secret.

 _Gauis,_ Arthur sighed, _I’ll have to tell him later_.

A knock came at the door, making Arthur jolt out of his thoughts. Lancelot stepped to the door, opening it to reveal a very scared looking James behind it.

“You called?” James asked, stepping into the room. His eyes darted around the room, and no matter how much he tried to still his hands they wouldn’t keep still. His friends looked just as jumpy, and Lily looked like she hadn’t slept at all.

 _Morgana does that to people_ , Arthur thought, _and they’re only kids. Even the Hydra didn’t scare them this much_.

But then Hydras were an easy enemy. It was a creature, a vile creature, that was trying to kill you. Those you could see, those you could easily kill, they weren’t that scary.

Politics, however, was a whole different ball game.

“Please, come in,” Arthur said, gesturing to the numerous chairs scattered around the room. One of the advantages of being the Crown Prince was the large number of rooms that were held for him. And the fact that he could hold one of these meetings without any of the servants giving him so much of a blink.

“Thanks,” James said, glancing towards the knights, “they know?”

“Yes,” Arthur said, “I can trust them with my life.”

“Any way you can magic me an apple out of thin air?” Gwaine asked, gesturing towards Percival with his thumb, “he took mine.”

“Sure,” Sirius remarked, pulling his wand out of his jacket and waving it in the direction of one of the chairs.

Instantly, it turned into a mound of apples.

Arthur thought he was much better a coping with people performing magic around him. He _knew_ that Sirius didn’t mean any harm. But as the apples began to roll their way across the room, he couldn’t feel a little bit terrified.

“Awesome, thanks,” Gwaine said, undeterred as he picked one of the apples up and began to throw it up in the air again.

“You’re welcome,” Sirius replied, a cocky grin appearing on his face. He reminder Arthur of a younger version of himself, when he had been filled with idealistic thoughts and a brazen attitude to danger.

“Back on topic,” Arthur said, “my father has Merlin on watch at all hours. Even if we were to get Merlin out, he would be hunted down until my father caught him.”

“So we can’t rescue him,” Lancelot said.

“Can he escape?” Sirius asked, swiping one of the apples from the floor and jumping into a chair, “like make a grand exit. He’s renowned for that in our time.”

Percival gave Arthur a look, and mouthed _our time?_ to him.

Sirius noted the quizzical look that the knights were giving him as he ate his apple.

“Did I just say something wrong?” he said, barely making the words out around the apple.

“I didn’t think they knew that bit,” Lily said quietly.

“What bit?” Sirius said.

“The “our time, bit,” she replied.

Sirius stopped eating the apple and managed to look sheepish for exactly one second.

“Oops,”

“So they’re not _just_ sorcerers?” Leon said.

Arthur shook his head.

“It’s a bit complicated,” he admitted, “I didn’t want you to worry, if my father finds out-”

“Arthur,” Gwaine said, throwing his apple at the Prince, “can you please accept that we are in this with you. We swore an oath to _you_. You’re not our mother.”

Arthur stepped back, allowing the apple core to sail past him.

“I _am_ responsible,” Arthur said, sighing. Gwaine was right though, the knights could be trusted. And it wasn’t that he didn’t _trust_ them, it was that he knew the length of his father’s wrath, and he knew how father would go to stop any sorcerer, or anyone abetting a sorcerer. At least for Arthur, as the favourite Crown Prince, had his lineage to keep him in his father’s blind spot.

“We’re from the future,” Sirius said, taking another bite of his apple, “we were captured in the same place as Arthur and Merlin by a sorcerer who was in league with Morgana. One minute we’re in Hogwarts, next minute, Camelot.”

“Hogwarts?” Elyan asked, “where is that?”

“Scotland,” Sirius replied, “and probably hasn’t been made yet. Spoiler alert.”

Lily rolled her eyes. Remus reached over with his wand and poked Sirius hard in the leg.

“We need Merlin to get home,” Lily said, “that is why we came to Camelot.” She looked at Arthur expectantly.

“Every moment they’re here,” Arthur explained to his knights, “they’re in danger. If my father ever finds out, this could get even worse.”

“Okay,” Leon said, “we’ll do whatever it takes, Arthur. What do you want us to do?”

“Gwaine, Leon, Elyan,” Arthur said, “I need you to be a protective detail for our four guests. Any rumours you hear, direct them off course. Any servants who stay too long, hurry them onwards. We need the focus to stay on Merlin for now.”

“Stay _on_ Merlin?” James said.

Arthur nodded.

“The only way Merlin is going to get out is if he escapes before the execution, but not early enough to make my father follow him. Uther will continue to hunt Merlin down if he disappears too early, he won’t want the opportunity of killing a sorcerer to be taken from his grasp too easily.”

“James,” Remus asked, “the flame spell?”

“Just what I was thinking Moony,” James said, turning to Arthur, “we might be able to help with that. You still burn sorcerers at the stake in this time?”

“Yes,” Arthur said.

“We,” James said, pointing at Sirius and Remus, “came up with a spell that might help you. It was supposed to be used as a precaution in case the ceremonial Gryffindor flame lion got out of hand-”

“Which it did,” Lily added.

“Anyway,” James said, “we kind of borrowed it off an old spell that was used by sorcerers in this time to protect themselves from being burnt to death. It’s got a bit more of a _flamboyant_ element.”

“Or Flame-boyant,” Sirius snickered.

Lily gave him a dark look. Arthur rolled his eyes.

 _Definitely children,_ he thought, until he noticed Gwaine snickering at the joke as well.

“It would provide enough of a distraction for Merlin to apparate out, and if Uther thought he turned into a giant flaming flamingo or something then he wouldn’t follow Merlin to the ends of the earth,” James explained.

“What’s a flamingo?” Percival asked.

“A type of bird,” Remus said, “common in the Mediterranean countries.”

“Where are those?” Lance said.

“He _isn’t_ turning into a flamingo,” Lily said, “you had a phoenix if I remember rightly.”

Arthur held his hand up.

“James, can you get this _spell_ written down for Merlin to use?” he asked.

“Yeh, I mean he wouldn’t get all the hand movements and stuff-” James said,

“If he’s as good a sorcerer as you claim him to be, Merlin will be fine,” Arthur said, turning to Percival and Lancelot.

“Lance, Percival, I need you to get the spell down to Merlin, tell him we have a plan. We are going to get him out, alive.”

“And if this plan doesn’t work?” Percival asked.

Arthur sighed.

“Then I have to openly defy my father,” he said, “but let us hope that it does not come to that.”

x-x-x

Severus groaned.

His head ached, the pain seemed to be worse this time. Cassandra hadn’t warned him that he might have a flashback whilst _apparating_. He was lucky not to be in two places at once, or worse off, dead.

Morgana had been flung a few feet away from him, lying face down in the dirt. She looked meek, almost powerless, as she slowly pushed herself up to her feet. Apparating, especially when you weren’t expecting it, did normally make people a little sick.

 _My advantage, then_ , Severus thought.

“Where are we?” Morgana’s words were laced with anger and Severus could see the rage building behind her eyes. She was like a cornered wolf, ready to strike and kill at a moment’s notice.

He glanced around, noting the trees and the clearing was not the one he had intended on landing.

“I have no idea,” Severus replied, trying to keep the smile of satisfaction off his face, “not that it matters.

Morgana narrowed her eyes, analysing Severus like a predator would its prey.

Severus smiled.

She didn’t scare him. She might be powerful, but she did not play mind games like Tom Riddle.

_At the thought of Voldemort he was in another place._

_The boy, the Potter boy, stood over him with his green eyes and glasses. Severus could feel his neck bleeding, his life disappearing._

_Voldemort had done this. He had done this to all of them._

_Then he was somewhere different. He was in a manor, the Malfoy Manor. Instead, this time, there was a dragon? Why was there a dragon? And wolves, huge wolves with monstrous red eyes and who smelt like the stench of death._

_“This isn’t real,” Severus said out loud. One of the wolves snapped its head around, growling at Severus. He raised is wand, but it leapt at him, biting his neck like Nagini had done -_

“Why did you stop me?” Morgana hissed. Severus snapped out of the memory in an instant, hoping that Morgana didn’t notice the difference. He fought the urge to bring his hand up to his neck, to check that it was not bleeding.

He couldn’t trust his memories any more. Time was being re-written, and so was his entire life. His memories, the ones he held now, where being erased and replaced by something else.

“I was told to,” Severus said, “by some interested third parties.”

“Who?” Morgana asked.

“Can’t say.”

“I can make you say,” Morgana stepped forward, hand raised towards Severus.

“I’ve seen your mind, you aren’t capable of evil. Misunderstood, yes, but not evil. Believe me, I’ve stared evil in the face for most of my life and spied on it for eighteen,” Severus said.

“So why take me away from Uther then?” Morgana asked, “if I’m not capable of evil, you would have known I couldn’t do anything to him.” She paused for a moment, “nothing major anyway,” she added.

“Some people in this world,” Severus said, reaching into the pocket of his robes and digging around for the coin that Cassandra had given him, “don’t get second chances. You have one shot, and if you mess it up then you can’t turn back.”

Morgana studied Severus’ movement intently. She was waiting for an opening.

 _Best not give her one then_ , Severus thought.

 “You deserve a second chance.” Snape said, as he found the coin and pulled it out of his pocket. He could feel the design with his thumb now, having spent many confused nights studying it. On one side of the gold coin was embossed an image of a girl, with long flowing hair and a simple dress. Snape recognised the face, the cheekbones and the wide, full lips, to be the face of Cassandra, the woman who had saved him from the boatman. One the other side, there was another image cast into the metal. This image was one of a woman whose hair was made of snakes that looked terrifyingly lifelike despite their tiny design.

“What is that?” Morgana said.

“A coin,” Severus replied, holding it up between thumb and forefinger.

Morgana froze. The terror was plain to see on her face.

“A Death Payment,” she hissed, looking at Severus, “you have a _death payment_? Where did you get it from?”

Severus flinched as he thought of the skeletal hand of the Boatman reaching out to demand payment.

“Beyond the grave,” Severus replied, “you can’t threaten me, I’ve already died.”

“I do not fear death,” Morgana replied.

“No,” Severus said, “but my interested benefactor wanted you out of that castle, and wanted to give you a second chance.”

“Why?” Morgana asked, “I know what I want to do and I don’t need anyone to tell me otherwise.”

Morgana lashed out with magic. Severus smiled as the spell ricochet off the coin, flying into a nearby tree and searing it charcoal black in an instant.

“She’ll find you,” Severus warned, “like she found me. You have a bigger part to play in all this Morgana Le Fey.”

Morgana snarled, throwing another spell at Severus. The spell hit the coin, shooting upwards into the sky. Severus felt the metal buckle, just slightly under the impact.

A bright light began to emanate from the coin, forcing Severus to look away. He could feel the coin pulling him _towards_ it, like it was sucking him through a hole.

 _Whatever gods exist,_ Severus thought, _let me live._

Morgana howled in fury as she threw more spells towards Severus. However, they just bounced off the light, which was now as tall and as wide as Severus. It rotated, like a doorway, spilling out crackles of lighting at its corners.

“Goodbye, Morgana,” Severus said, as he stepped through the doorway and into the unknown beyond.

x-x-x

 “So, Sev was brought back in time as well?” Lily asked.

Remus nodded.

“It’s the only thing we can think of, unless he managed to learn time travel in the future?”

“He wasn’t _that_ old,” Lily said.

“Old!” Sirius shouted from where he and James had their heads buried over the parchment, trying to sketch out the hand movements and requirements for the Flamingo Fire Spell, as Sirius had now christened it. After Arthur’s warning, they had “retired” to their rooms for rest after the terrible events of the previous few days. Gwaine, Elyan and Leon were all stationed outside, doing laps of the corridors so as not to arouse any suspicion.

“But Cassandra wasn’t the ones who brought us back in time,” Lily said, “that was Moray, or Medusa.”

“He said that he was brought back to let us out of the cells,” Remus said, “as if he had been given a second chance.”

Lily nodded. The way Sev had looked at her had haunted her to her core. There had been such desperation, such despair, that Lily could barely recognise the young boy who she had played with as a child.

“But why use him?” James said, as he scratched away at the paper with his quill, “why didn’t Cassandra just save us herself?”

“Maybe she couldn’t?” Remus suggested.

“But why Sev?” Lily asked, “why _him_ in particular?”

“Because he knew us?” Sirius suggested.

“Or something happens in the future,” Remus said, “where he’s from. Maybe something that would want to give him a second chance?”

“Short of Voldemort rocking up at his doorstep and kissing his slimy hair, what could make _Severus Snape_ of all people want to save our lives?” James said.

“Something bad,” Lily said, “and we’ll never find out. Time paradoxes and all that.”

“You sound like you’re quoting Professor Binns,” Sirius commented.

“That’s because I _am,_ ” Lily said, “he did a whole lesson on time travel, and every incident where the Ministry had been forced to do a whole cleaning up act because someone had messed with the past.”

“Like trying to stop Voldemort from being born,” Sirius shivered, “I feel sorry for old Nevar Tell, his story was terrifying.”

“Life in Askaban _is_ terrifying,” Lily said, “wait, you _did_ listen?”

“I do pay attention,” Sirius said, “sometimes.”

“Enough to become unregistered animagus’ clearly,” Lily remarked.

“You want to try?” Sirius said, “we can dig out the old books. I bet your animagus would be a cat, something really angry and pissy.”

Lily flicked her wand at a pillow, which zoomed across the room and hit Sirius square in the head.

“Oi!” James said, “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“I have no interested in becoming an animagus, registered or otherwise,” Lily remarked, “I have better uses of my time. And I don’t want to eat a Mandrake leaf.”

“You don’t _eat_ the leaf,” Sirius said, “you hold it in your mouth for a month.”

“How do you eat?” Lily asked.

“Smoothies,” Remus said, “lots, and lots of smoothies.”

Sirius grinned.

“In any event,” Lily said, “there is something that isn’t quite _right_ about all this. As if this is the opening act to a play.”

“It’s too easy?” Remus suggested.

“No,” Lily said, shaking her head, “it’s something I can’t put my finger on. As if we have too many questions, too much unknown. We don’t know _who_ brought us back, we don’t know _why_ Sev was brought back, we don’t even know why Morgana attacked Camelot.”

“Cos she’s pissy?” Sirius suggested.

“But why _now_. Why when we are here?”

“Because someone else is moving the pieces,” Remus said, “someone want’s an event to happen and we have to be the right places for it.”

Lily nodded.

“Then you take the time travel,” Lily said, “Binns said that as soon as you travel _back_ in time you have the chance to change the future. Only a chance, mind, but still a chance. And the longer the stay, the longer and more significant your actions are, then the change is more significant.”

“Doesn’t explain Snivillus turning up thought,” Sirius said.

“But maybe something happens,” Lily said, “in _our_ future, something that is so bad that Sev wanted to change it?”

“But why would Cassandra bring him back?” Sirius asked.

“Because she wanted something changed,” Lily said, thinking out loud, “or maybe she just wanted to escape from her father? I just want _answers!_ ”

“Done!” James said, putting down the quill with a flourish. Lily rolled her eyes at the dramatics. As much as she was impressed by James’ ability at being an animagus and the fact that he was determined to save Merlin, there were still hints of his boyish dramatics that crept through.

“Excellent,” Sirius said, taking the parchment and handing it over to Remus, “Moony, if you wouldn’t mind doing the proof reading?”

“Not at all, Padfoot,” Remus said taking the piece of parchment.

“Still doesn’t explain how we got here,” Lily said, frowning. It frustrated her, not knowing. She did not like it that there was someone moving them around like chess pieces on a board. She would be dammed if someone tried to take control of her life.

“Look,” Sirius said, “we need to get home first. Then, we can all put our Ravenclaw hats on and work out _why_ where here. And to get home, we need to free Merlin.”

“Still,” Lily grumbled.

“Once we’re in the future,” James said, “once we’re back at Hogwarts, we have a whole library of history to refer to.”

“You’ll actually go _into_ the library to do research?!” Lily said, “I’m impressed.”

“Consider it a date,” James said. He gave Lily a smile. Lily felt herself blush involuntarily.

“Fine,” Remus said, handing the paper back to Sirius, “let’s get this to Merlin. He’s got two days before the execution, he should have enough time to learn it.”

“Let’s hope so,” Sirius said, “otherwise we’re all royally screwed.”

x-x-x

The guard stuck his arm out in front of Lancelot.

“No one is to go down there,” the guard said, “King’s orders.”

Lancelot tried to restrain himself from just decking the guy there and then. It wasn’t his fault, after all, that Uther controlled the entire castle with an iron fist.

“Food,” Lancelot said, “Prince Arthur said we were to take it down to the prisoner ourselves.”

The guard narrows his eyes.

“Why?” he asked.

“We tend not to ask questions of the Prince,” Percival said, his voice carrying authority even in this small corridor, “so you best let us through. Unless, that is, if you want to take it up with the Prince?”

The guard looked nervous and shuffled his feet.

“Ten minutes,” Lancelot said, “then we’ll be back out. The prisoner needs food if he is to make it to the day of his execution.”

“Fine,” the guard said, pulling back his arm, “but make it quick.”

Lancelot nodded his head, just slightly, in thanks, before stepping down the spiral staircase which led down into the cells.

Merlin was being held in the more secure cells, according to Arthur. The ones where only traitors of the King, feared warriors, or evil sorcerers were held. As Merlin was considered to be all three of those by the King, Lancelot didn’t really expect him to be held anywhere else.

“It’s not right,” Percival muttered.

“I know,” Lancelot replied, “let’s just hope that this plan works.”

The stairs ended, leading to a long corridor which was lined with guards. Lancelot nodded at the first one, the head of the watch, as he walked down the corridor towards Merlin’s cell.

 _Let’s hope this works,_ Lancelot said. He gripped the wooden bowl of stew tightly, trying not to finger the spell that was sitting in his jacket pocket.

They reached the end of the corridor, which opened out into a small space, off which lay three cells. Two cells remained empty, however, the one to Lancelot’s right held Merlin.

 _He looks so small,_ Lancelot thought. Merlin was curled up in the corner of the cell, trying to stay warm. It was hard to believe that _Merlin_ of all people was supposed to be one of the most powerful sorcerers in all of _time_. He looked tiny, weak, the kind of person that needed _protection_.

“Merlin,” Percival said, “wake up, we brought you food.”

Merlin spun around, eyes showing his shock.

“Thank the gods,” Merlin said, “I’m starving.”

Lancelot passed the bowl through the bars, before taking out the spoon from his pocket. Around the handle was the piece of parchment which would hopefully save Merlin’s life.

“The spoon,” Lancelot said, handing it to Merlin.

Merlin’s eyes flicked down at the parchment wrapped tightly around the handle. In the dark light, it would be hard to make it out, but Merlin would be able to feel the texture of the paper, of that Lancelot was sure.

“What is this?” Merlin asked.

“Soup,” Percival answered loudly, so the guards could hear.

“And some hope,” Lancelot said, nodding to the spoon, “there should be enough direction in there to help you find some.”

Merlin nodded, understanding what Lancelot was saying.

“Must be some good soup,” Merlin said, loudly.

“Nothing special,” Percival replied, glancing over his shoulder. The guards didn’t seem to notice their conversation, but you could never be too sure. Uther would want eyes everywhere on his prize captured sorcerer.

“Thank you,” Merlin said, “thank you both.”

“We will see you tomorrow night,” Lancelot said, “Prince Arthur has requested that he brings your final meal.”

Merlin nodded.

 _I hate seeing him like this,_ Lancelot thought. Merlin was a good character, true to his word, and a kind soul. To see him treated like dirt by Uther was hard to watch.

Lancelot stood up, as did Percival.

“We will see you tomorrow night,” Lancelot said, nodding towards the spoon that Merlin held, “good luck.”

“Thank you,” Merlin said. Lancelot could hear the hope, and terror, in his voice.

“You won’t need it,” Lancelot replied, “it’ll work.”

 _It must work,_ he thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to leave comments or kudos! We are nearing the end of this story now, and your support and kind word throughout this process has been invaluable.
> 
> Comment and kudos are always received with love!

Severus fell on the ground with a _thump_.

His hand was still clamped around the coin tightly, knuckles white from the effort. He stood up with shaking legs to survey the world around him. He was standing in a clearing, with long grasses that swayed in the breeze, some of which had small purple flowers that gave some colour within the dull yellow of the grass stalks.  The coin was infused with magic from Cassandra, with a spell that had both protected him and transported him away from danger, away from Morgana. He didn’t know where he had left her, but he had saved the lives of Potter and his friends, and had the chance to see Lily Evans once more.

His bargain was complete.

He inhaled a deep breath, out of breath from the rough transportation spell. It had felt like a mix between travelling by portkey and apparating at the same time, a sensation which had not been nice and one that Snape did not want to repeat again.

 _Salt_ , Severus thought to himself, _I can smell salt on the breeze_.

There would only be one reason why there would be salt on the air, he was standing near the sea.

_You must return before the sun sets over the sea._

Cassandra's prophetic words ran through Severus’ mind as he opened his palm to look at the coin that lay in it. Along its length was a crack that split one of the faces that was embossed into it was split down the middle. Severus clasped his hand around the coin once more and tucked it back into his pockets.

Severus looked up, squinting at the bright sunshine. It was easily early morning here, the coin must have had some more time warping powers than just plan apparition. It was the only reason why he could have jumped _forward_ from the night to the daytime.

 _Does it even matter though?_ Severus asked himself. He knew that this path was leading towards his death. And he had seen Lily again. Nothing else mattered.

 _Smoke,_ Severus thought, as he spotted some grey smoke rising into the sky bent over slightly against the clear blue sky from the fresh sea breeze.

 _A house I presume,_ Severus thought, pursing his lips together. He started off towards the smoke, hoping that it may have some answers. He didn't doubt for a moment that Cassandra's lair would be laying nearby. After all, she had been the one who had laid the spell on the coin and it would make sense for her to place a spell which would return Severus to her again.

It did not take long to follow the smoke and find the house that Severus was looking for. His body ached with the pain of age that Severus had never experienced, as if he was walking with the bones of a seventy year old man even though he had the face of one in his mid thirties.

 _Time is being re-written,_ Severus thought. He had no idea what kind of repercussions this would have, no one could predict it, not really. It was why the time-turners were banned by the Ministry, and time travel itself was a top secret concept that only a few had access to. Even Voldemort himself did not know time travel, and he wouldn’t even dare it. It would be like setting off a pack of firecrackers in a house to just kill a few vermin. You never knew what the consequences would be.

 _But I got to see Lily again,_ Severus thought, _and made this worth it._

As Severus approached the house, he could see that it was in fact a small cottage, surrounded by a low rickety wooden fence. Hundreds of brightly coloured flowers surrounded the fence, blooming punctuating the green grasslands around the cottage with a splash of colour.

Severus reached forward and placed his hand on the gate, about to open it to see if he could find the occupants of the building. It couldn't be _that_ hard to find Cassandra if he asked after her description after all.

"Who are you?" a woman's voice asked. Severus spun around to see a woman with long black hard tied back behind her head, and a baby strapped to her back. Behind her there were two young boys, from the hair and build Severus guessed they were the woman's sons.

"I'm looking for someone, a woman with blonde hair and green eyes, do you know her?" Severus said.

The woman looked at Severus through narrow eyes as she judged how dangerous he was.

 _After all,_ Severus thought _, I am an unknown stranger looking for someone with a specific description_.

If Severus had learnt one thing during his time in Camelot's era, it was that the people of this time did not need much of a description to allow for identification of someone unknown. 'A boy' was as good enough description for some as any.

" Severus Snape?" the woman asked.

Severus managed not to look shocked at the woman's comment, as mental barriers came slamming down just in case the woman was a mind reader.

_How does she know my name?_

"Who are you?" Snape countered.

"She said to watch for you, the woman said.

“Who?” Severus asked.

The woman turned to her two sons, who had stopped playing their game and had come over to investigate who the stranger was. They peeked out from behind their mother’s skirts, inquisitive as only children could be.

"Antioch, Cadmus," the woman addressed her sons, "take Ignotus inside for a moment."

The woman carefully removed the sleeping baby from her back and handed him to the eldest, who Severus assumed was Antioch, who along with his brother took the baby inside.

When the three boys had gone inside the cottage, the woman turned back towards Snape and explained;

“The woman you are looking for,” she said, pointing a figure towards the clifftop and the ocean, “that way, you will find her. There is a narrow pathway, leading down towards the cliffs.”

“Thank you,” Severus said, nodding his head just slightly.

“Be warned,” the woman said, “that route has danger written all over it. It’s why I didn’t want the boys to hear, they don’t need fanciful ideas of danger to get themselves in trouble.”

“I understand,” Severus said, “but still, thank you.”

“I hope you find your answers,” the woman said, looking at Severus with pity in her eyes, “although I fear the answers that you seek are not happy ones.”

“All the same,” Serverus said, “they are answers that I need.”

x-x-x

The light trickled in through the window, bringing with it the sound of the songbirds greeting the new day.

Merlin stirred, slowly. He could feel the ache in his bones from the poor night’s sleep, and the thumping headache that was just lurking behind his eyes.

 _Time has come,_ he thought as he pushed himself upright. He could feel the piece of parchment that Lance had given him nestled in the palm of his hand.

Thinking of what was about to happen made Merlin feel slightly ill. He had read that piece of parchment numerous times, he _think_ he knew what he would need to do. They had such blind faith in him, those four students. They knew him as a legend, something that had been warped by history and time into a creature far greater than his flesh and bone existence.

 _I just need to have a bit of that faith myself_ , Merlin thought, as he scrunched up the paper in his fist, _that’s all._

He stepped up on his bed and peered out of the window. From here, he could just about see the top of the skyline, with the fluffy white clouds that moved gently in the cool morning breeze.

 _It’s so quiet,_ Merlin thought, _it must be early._

It would probably be a feast day, if the other executions were anything to go by. Uther liked to revel in his triumph over magic, and when the event was catching his son’s manservant? Then that would require a feast holiday to end all holiday.

 _I’m to be paraded like a lamb for slaughter_ , Merlin thought, clenching the parchment tightly, _burnt at the stake and nothing to come of me._

_I will not let that happen._

x-x-x

“From the future?” Gauis asked.

Remus felt slightly queasy as the old physician looked over the four of them with a critical eye.

 _Merlin will be okay,_ Remus thought, _and we’ll be okay. We’ll get home_.

“Yes,” Arthur said, “and we need them to get home. Back to their time.”

Gauis shook his head.

“If Merlin was here-”

“I know,” Arthur interrupted, “but even if he gets out alive, he can’t be seen in Camelot, not whilst my father’s orders remain in place. You know this.”

Gauis nodded.

“So then,” Gauis said, walking over to his bookshelf and then reaching behind the shelf to pull out a dusty old tome which hadn’t been looked at in years, “time travel.”

“Yes,” Lily said, “if possible.”

“It’s certainly possible,” Gauis said, nodding, as he shuffled back towards the table and slammed the book down with a heavy _bang,_ “the problem will be having enough power to actually perform the magic.”

He leafed through the pages thoughtfully, muttering to himself as he did so.

“How urgent is this?” Gauis said, looking up at Arthur.

“Very,” he said, “if Father was to find out about their true identities…”

Arthur didn’t have to finish the sentence. They could hear the banging of the wood for the pyre even this deep in the castle.

“Let me see,” Gauis said, muttering to himself as he skimmed down the pages. Remus peered over his shoulder, the writing was thick manuscript, dotted with detailed pictures of various monsters and diagrams that he couldn’t make out.

Gauis leafed through a few more pages, before stopping at one.

“There,” Gauis said, pointing to the page, “this is what you need.”

“What does it say?” Remus asked. Arthur peered over at the book, face distorting in thought as he tried to make out the thick text.

“Does that say _dragon?”_ He said.

Gauis looked guilty.

“That is the problem,” he said, “you need a being of significant magic to perform the spell. I mean, Merlin could have called the dragon, but unless we manage to get you four out of Camelot far enough to meet Merlin-”

“Merlin can talk to _dragons?_ ” Sirius said, at the same time as James said “That’s amazing”.

Gauis raised his eyebrow at Arthur, who was the only one who didn't have a look of shock on his face.

“I’ve given up being surprised,” Arthur admitted, shrugging, “Merlin defeated Moray after that a dragon must be a piece of cake right?”

“A dragon is no piece of cake, Prince Arthur,” Gauis warned, “and certainly not one as powerful as Kilgharrah.”

“The dragon my father captured?” Arthur asked, “the one that _escape?”_

“How do you know his name?” Gauis said sharply.

“I’m to be the future king,” Arthur explained, “my father, introduced me to him when I was young let me say. It was before Merlin had even arrived in Camelot. And well before he _escaped_.”

“If we can get Merlin to help us,” Gauis said, tapping the book thoughtfully, “he could call Kilgharrah **,** and get the four you home before Uther finds out who you really are.”

“We can’t do that,” Arthur said, shaking his head, “if my father found Merlin alive, I, I don't what to think what he would do. And there is no way he wouldn’t be watching us leave if we wanted to get outside of Camelot’s borders.”

The rest didn’t really need to be said. The sounds of the hammer building the pyre did it all.

Remus felt sick.

“It’s not as if we can call a dragon easily _inside_ Camelot’s borders,” Gauis said.

“But at least then we can explain why they have gone,” Arthur said, “we can accompany them to the border on the west, once they’re beyond our borders my father would not care about them.”

“Friendly of him,” James muttered.

“My father is a successful King because he cares about his kingdom, and the borders of that kingdom. But once you’re outside those borders, some other problem would come that would take his attention,” Arthur said.

 _Good excuse,_ Remus thought. He had been told that he was a good reader of people, and to him, Arthur did not agree with his father. Although, as the Crown Prince, he probably would never admit it out loud.

“In any event,” Gauis said, “you need to have the power of a dragon to rip the boundaries of time. It’s the only way.”

“Guess we’d best start studying,” Lily remarked.

 _Ever the practical,_ Remus thought.

“Who was the person who broke you out?” Gauis asked, “I don’t remember a description of him in Camelot before.”

“The slimeball everyone is talking about?” James said, earning him a dark look from Lily, “his name is Severus Snape.”

“But he was older,” Remus said, “much older than when we knew him, in our time.”

“He wasn’t that old,” Lily remarked.

“He was _ancient,_ ” Sirius remarked, “wrinkly man old.”

“He didn’t have any wrinkles,” James said, “he was boring uncle old.”

Gauis pursed his lips in thought.

“His age kept changing? Would you say?” He asked, shuffling over towards the bookshelf and taking another slim tome from the shelf.

“Yes,” Remus said. He didn’t really like to think of it too hard, however horrible Snape had been to them during school it was plain _creepy_ that he had showed up to save them?

“This person you defeated,” Gauis said, opening the book and leafing through the pages, “Moray **,** is not just a person according to legend.”

“He looked pretty person like to me,” Arthur remarked.

“An embodiment of power?” Remus suggested. Gauis nodded.

“But those haven’t been recorded in millennia, let alone someone strong enough to embody a corporeal form,” Remus said.

“Yeh, but what you’re forgetting, Moony, is that this is _the age of Camelot,_ ” Sirius remarked, “weird shit probably happens all the time. And it’s not like Professor Binns would exactly give an exemplary covering of history in any event.”

“But just logically,” Remus replied, “the amount of power alone-”

“Would be enough to break through time,” Gauis said, opening the book and point to a huge picture which spanned both pages. On one page, there was the image of a girl with blonde hair, which flowed down her face, giving her an almost goddess like look. On the page opposite, there was a picture of a woman with snakes for hair, and piercing eyes which Remus felt like they could share into his soul.

“Cassandra and Medusa,” he muttered.

“Yes,” Gauis replied, “they appear with Moray in legend, creatures of his own making.”

“But she said she was his daughter, Arthur said.

“Of a sort,” Gauis said, “but unlike Merlin they are pure forces of nature, like the wind or the tides. Their presence in the human form is cyclical, every few hundred years they manifest in a human form, before going back to their natural states.

“Cassandra,” Gauis said, tapping the picture of Cassandra, “was known as a meddler, a spirit of the dead who would meddle with time to create a different history. It was said whilst Medusa would kill, Cassandra would undo history itself.”

Remus gulped.

“So you mean that Cassandra brought Snivellus back?” Sirius asked.

“From the _dead?!_ ” James said.

Lily looked ill. Remus felt like he was going to throw up.

“Most probably,” Gauis said, “which is the bit that concerns me.”

“Why?” Arthur asked.

“Because whilst you defeated Moray, and whilst there is no direct threat to the kingdom, this _will be_ a threat to your Kindgom in years to come, Arthur.” Gauis said, pointing at the picture of Cassandra, “she wants to _re-write_ history, and she wants to use you to do it.”

“But what would Cassandra have against Camelot?” Remus asked.

“Your sister, Morgana, is the one who needs a purpose,” Gauis said, tapping Cassandra’s face on the page, “this is a force of nature. Why does the sun rise in the sky? Why does it rain? Why does magic exist? It just _does_.”

“That is a problem for tomorrow,” Arthur said, clearly looking troubled by what Gauis had told him, “first we need to get our guests back to their time.”

“In which case,” Gauis said, turning back to the first book and tapping on a small paragraph of text just below where Lily had been studying intently, “you four need to learn this spell. It allows you to summon a dragon.”

x-x-x

 “Merlin,” the guard said sharply, catching Merlin’s attention.

Merlin smiled sympathetically. He was pretty sure behind the helmet this guard was Thomes, the farrier’s son, Netham. He had the same small stature, and a voice that showed it had only just broken. It was a point of pride for Netham that his son was a member of the Camelot’s guards, one that he had spoken to Merlin about on numerous occasions when Merlin had been caring for Arthur’s horses.

“Thomes,” Merlin said, standing up and holding out his hands in front of him. Thomes looked at Merlin’s hands as if they were holding a broadsword at his throat.

“Merlin,” Thomes replied, unlocking the heavy cage door and pulling the metal cuffs from his belt.

“Sorry about this, Merlin,” Thomes said, as he put the cuffs on Merlin. They were heavy, industrial piece of metal that were designed to keep even the strongest assailant under control. On Merlin, they almost fell off his wrists.

“Not your fault, Thomes,” Merlin said, “you have a job to do.”

“Still,” Thomes said, stepping out of the way so Merlin could walk out of the cell, “for what it’s worth, Merlin, even though you’re a, well _you know,_ you’re a good guy.”

Merlin smiled. He could see the terror in Thomes’ eyes.

 _Poor lad,_ Merlin thought.

“Thanks,” Merlin said, “that means a lot.”

Thomes nodded.

“After you, Merlin,” Thomes said, “you’ve got a full guard contingent waiting to accompany you.”

“Must be special,” Merlin chuckled. Thomes didn’t reply.

“Let’s be done with this then,” Merlin said, walking towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. It was a familiar walk, one he had taken numerous times on the various occasions he had either been thrown in the cells or visited those who had been locked up there.

Thomes thumped up after him with his heavy boots, catching up with Merlin as he reached the top of the stairs.

Then he stopped.

The guard contingent were the knights of Camelot, all dressed in their formal scarlet capes with swords attached to their hips. Percival stood at the front, nodding to Merlin as he stepped out of the stairwell.

“Order of the Prince,” Percival explained, “we’re your guard.”

Merlin couldn’t help but allow a smile to spread across his face. Even with all this, the cuffs eating into his wrists, the desperate situation of this all, his friends were here to accompany him.

“Thank you,” Merlin said. He hoped they didn’t hear his voice crack, just slightly. It was a relief to know he had friends, a family, who cared about him and would stand with him to the very end.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Lance said, “how was your bedtime reading,”

“Exhilarating,” Merlin replied.

“Good,” Percival said, turning on his heel, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Merlin, you only get to do this once.”

Merlin coughed.

“I try,” he replied, as he followed Percival, flanked by his friends, towards the stake that was to be his funeral pyre.

x-x-x

“People of Camelot,” Uther began.

Arthur felt cold hard rage at his father, like nothing he had ever known before. He was angry at the crowd who cheered his father, those who had turned out for Merlin’s public execution. He was angry at his father’s smug smile, which radiated pride that he had managed to catch a sorcerer within his very walls, a sorcerer who had evaded capture for years.

But most of all, Arthur hated the crown which sat on his father’s head. It was not _right_ to murder Merlin just because he was born of magic. Arthur could see that now, the brainwashing and gaslighting of his father’s tyranny was clear. It was as if he had been blind this entire time to his people’s decimation, _his people_ that he should have protected as their Prince.

 _Not now,_ Arthur thought to himself, _don’t beat yourself up, not now._

James, Lily, Remus and Sirius all sat with the assorted nobles who they had saved from the prisons. Some spoke of the black haired magician who had saved them from their cells, but most of those rumours were dying away now. Gwaine had some of the more amicable guards dissent a rumour that stress, especially when magic was involved, could cause very muddled memories.

 _He will be okay_ , Arthur thought, curling his hands into a fist. He could just feel the small scrunched up piece of parchment that Sirius had palmed to him when they had entered the balcony.

 _He will not die_.

It had taken him all night to argue with his father to allow the Knights to accompany Merlin to the stake. Uther had wanted him to be brought out by the city guards, he hadn’t seen the point of wasting such _talent_ to accompany Merlin to the stake.

“Magic is outlawed,” Uther continued to the crowd, oblivious of the glare that Arthur was giving him, “and today we see a _warlock_ sentenced for the good of the people.”

The way Uther said _warlock¸_ like it was some sort of terrible and horrific disease, made Arthur quiver in rage. He had already yelled at his father how unjust this was, and he was lucky enough to be allowed out onto the balcony today. Uther, whilst a strong king, was blind to anyone who did not respect his views. That kind of attitude helped him build a Kingdom out of war, but in peacetime? It was tantamount to _asking_ for another war.

The heavy gates of the castle were pulled open, and Merlin stepped out flanked by the Knights. From the balcony, Merlin looked so small and unimposing it was hard to imagine how much power he held in his body.

Merlin looked up towards Arthur, and gave him a small smile.

 _He will not die. He will not die. He will not die_ , Arthur thought.

Merlin walked down towards the stake with a confident stride. Arthur could see the thinly veiled rage on the faces of the Knight as they accompanied Merlin towards the pyre, whilst the crowd began to change obscenities at Merlin.

Arthur noticed his father grinning with delight. It made him feel sick.

Merlin stood silent whilst the crowed jeered and yelled at him. Lance was the one who tied Merlin to the post, his face grim and set with a sullen resignation of what was to come.

 _Please do not die,_ Arthur thought.

The knights left the platform, leaving Merlin stranded in the centre, alone. The crowd was nearing fever pitch, surging forward only to be held back by the city guards who stood in a ring around the pyre. The last thing they needed was a riot, but the burning of a warlock was something that people felt passionate about.

 _They sure do when their King is watching,_ Arthur thought, as Uther raised his hand to silence the crowd. It was amazing what anyone would do to get parental approval, and these people thought of Uther like their parent, their guardian.

What he said was law. And what was law, had to be right.

“Kill him,” Uther said, his words ringing across the now silent court yard. The words spread through the crowd like a ripple across a still pond, fanning their favour to a madness that made Arthur want to turn away.

In the centre of it, all Merlin stood, staring up at Uther with a defiant, calm stare.

Uther signalled towards the guards who branded the torches next to the pyre. Arthur felt his breath stop in his throat as the guards lowered the torches to the pyre. The flame took a few seconds to catch the kinderling, before the fire began to spread across the base of the platform like a snake.

_He will not die. He will not die. He will not die._

Arthur gripped the hilt of his sword in rage and fear, keeping his face impassive from any emotion. It would not do to show any rage against his father, not at such a public exhibition of Uther’s power.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the rage burning through him like the flames began to burn through the platform underneath Merlin.

Arthur could see Merlin, his face calm but staring at Uther with a chilling gaze. Arthur clenched his free hand into a fist, digging his nails into his skin as he fought against the urge to shout out that this was _wrong_ , that Merlin hadn’t done anything that meant he should be _burnt_.

The flames grew larger as the fire was whipped by the breeze into a smoky hot pit. The flames licked high into the sky, almost obscuring Merlin from view.

“Why does he not scream?” Uther asked.

Arthur almost missed the question, it was spoken so quietly. He tore his gaze away from Merlin as the flames engulfed him, staring at his father. Uther showed no remove, no emotion, just the hard cold stare of a King.

“I don’t know,” Arthur replied, trying to keep any emotion from entering his voice. To show rage now would only provoke his father further, and Arthur did not want to face his father in a rage.

Uther nodded, seemingly satisfied by Arthur’s answer, before turning back to the spectacle which was unfolding before them.

The increased heat of the fire had pushed the crowd back, some holding their hands in front of their faces against the heat. Arthur couldn’t see Merlin anymore, but he could see the Knights looking on, waiting for something, anything to happen.

Out of nowhere, the flames leapt ten foot into the sky, and an earth shattering _boom_ echoed across the courtyard. The crowd feel backwards, pushed by the air, stumbling over one another as they began to scream.

The wind in the courtyard picked up, whipping the flames into a circular pillar of flame that stretched high into the sky. The heat made Arthur throw his hands up, ducking behind the balcony wall for protection. Screams echoed from below, as the crowd’s fervour for death now turned into terror.

Then, like a giant bringing down a hammer from the heavens, the fire collapsed down towards the pyre. In seconds, the heat disappeared, sucking the air downwards with it.

Arthur coughed as he struggled to his feet to look down towards the pyre. Where Merlin had stood was now just a charred circle of ash burnt into the stone. The guards look around, perplexed, as the crowd started to yell and scream as they realised what had happened.

“Where has he gone?” Uther spat, swivelling his gaze towards Arthur.

Arthur felt his stomach tie itself in knots.

“He’s a sorcerer father,” Arthur replied, “I wouldn’t have a clue. As you’ve said, he’s not the man I thought he was.”

An echoing cry stopped Uther from responding, as he turned to the sky to see the source of the noise. A huge firey bird winged its way across the sky, trailing flames behind it as it swooped low over the castle, before arching high up into the clouds. It didn’t look like a normal bird, rather, it _was_ made of flames than a bird which was on fire.

 _A phoenix_ , Arthur thought, trying to stop the smile appearing on his lips.

“I will find him,” Uther whispered under his breath, swivelling away from the disaster of an execution, “and I will purge this land of his filth.”

Uther stormed away into the castle. The other courtiers took this as their cue to leave, panicked and terrified that they were.

Arthur instead watched as the bird-like creature flew off into the sky. Merlin was safe now, and that was the most important thing.

He glanced down towards where the four wizards were standing. James gave him a thumbs up, and Sirius wore a grin on his face that said it all.

 _Just to get you home,_ Arthur said, glancing up at the sky. The bird, spell, or whatever it was, had now disappeared to only leave the clouds hanging in the sky.

 _And for that,_ he thought, _we need a Dragon. Gods help us all_.

x-x-x

Severus walked down the clifftop pass, aware that this was most likely leading to his death.

That fact didn’t scare him, not now. He knew what lay ahead for him beyond this life, and in some respects he knew that he was really a dead man walking. There was only so much one could do to evade death, it had even come for Voldemort in the end.

 _But how?_ Severus thought, hand reaching up to the scar on his neck. He knew he had got bitten by a creature, a snake? Or was it a dog? He wasn’t sure, his memories were sliding out from him like water would from behind a dam.

Severus chose his footing carefully as he walked down the cliff face, the path barely two feet wide with a sheer drop down to the rocks below. The sun was just starting to move overhead to mark midday, bright and golden in a clear blue sky.

Severus followed the path down the cliff face until he reached the mouth of a cave that was nestled about half way up the cliff. Even though it was midday, the cave was pitch back a few meters after the cave entrance.

 _Magic,_ Severus thought, as he held his wand out in front of him and flicked a silent _lumos_ spell into life. The light flashed on the end of his wand, illuminating the rocky cave and narrowing entrance which led deeper into the cliffs.

The wet rocks made his footing treacherous, more so since his limbs were struggling to response to commands. Every bone in his body ached with fatigue and age, his arms were leaden just holding up his wand. Whatever magic Cassandra had used to take him away from the jaws of death was starting to fail.

“I see you have managed to find me, Severus,” a voice said next to him.

Snape spun around in shock, the light illuminating a face that was right next to him. He managed to recover his balance before he fell over on the rocks as he studied the face before him.

Cassandra.

“Come, sit,” Cassandra said, gesturing to one of the rocks next to her, “we have much to talk about.”

“First, tell me this,” Severus asked, “am I dying?”

The light of the _lumos_ spell did not show Cassandra’s features clearly, but Severus had been alive for long enough to notice the pity in someone else’s eyes.

“Yes,” she said shortly, “please, sit. Let me give you the answers you desire.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! The rest of the A/N is at the end of this chapter.
> 
> Warnings (Swearing): The f-word is used, as Lily gets annoyed.

“Nothing about this plan could ever go wrong,” Sirius commented as he paced up and down the room.

“Ever the optimist, Padfoot,” James joked, sticking his leg out to trip up Sirius.

“No, I’m _serious,_ ” Sirius said, stepping easily over James’ foot, “and by which I mean, _completely sarcastic._ ”

“It is our only option,” Lily muttered, leaning over the heavy tome that Gauis had leant them, “not that I like it.”

“You’d love trying to summon a dragon, Lily,” James remarked, grinning, “come on it’s hardly as hard as charms class right now. Those spells are a _bitch_.”

Lily glared at James. James found his grin growing even bigger.

 _You love her,_ a tiny voice in his head said. A tiny, infuriating, little voice.

But the voice was right.

“Well we need to learn by tonight,” Remus said, “Uther is getting nervous-”

“Yes,” Lily said, her voice tight, “I. Know.”

“It’ll be fine,” Sirius said, slumping on one of the chairs, “we go out into the woods, we find a dragon, the dragon gets us back to our time, we’re home in time for tea and biscuits.”

“Do you ever not think of food?” Lily asked.

“Never,” James said, “when Sirius doesn’t eat, something is up.” And it _was_ true, the only time Sirius had stopped eating was when his mess of a family tried to kick him out. It had taken James’ mum the entire summer to get Sirius back to his normal weight.

 _Assholes,_ James thought. If he ever met Mr and Mrs Black he would probably try and punch them. Although Sirius would probably try and beat him to it.

“And how are we going to get into the woods?” Lily said, “Uther has every guard on the watch for suspicious activity. Arthur says he has a plan-”

“He does,” James said, “Lily you can’t stress about that, it’ll be fine.”

“You say that,” Lily said, glancing up at James, “but we need to have a backup plan. I mean if we knew where to go we _could_ apparate-”

“And then people ask why we’ve randomly disappeared,” Sirius said, “we need to be seen to leave by Uther but quietly enough so it doesn’t attract attention. Arthur’s agreed to get us to leave with his guard tonight, with Uther’s blessing, we have to wait until at least an hour before sundown.”

“And how long is that?” Lily moaned.

“Two hours yet,” James said, “Remus what would be your guess?”

“I was going to say at least two, maybe three,” Remus remarked.

“And how is it you’re so good at knowing when the sun goes down?” Lily asked.

“How else do you think we sneak out to accompany Moony here on his moonlight adventures?” James replied. And it _was_ a skill, not one that could be done on a watch but something you just had to learn. They could never be later, otherwise Remus would have been by himself during that time.

Lily nodded, looking impressed, before looking down at the book muttering to herself. Sirius glanced at James and made a little heart symbol with his hands.

James flipped Sirius the finger.

x-x-x

Morgana knocked back the remains of her drink with an ease that should have not been befitting of a princess.

She placed the tankard heavily on the bar, nodding at the barman to pour her another. One benefit of her disguise was that everyone thought that she looked like a mercenary, one of the fighters from the North. Male or Female, no one messed with those warriors, and it was the perfect cover for someone who needed to keep a low profile.

“Thanks,” she said, as the barman gave her a fresh tankard. With a mutter under her breath and a flash of colour in her eyes, the alcohol turned into water. The first tankard was okay to drink, the second would addle her brain.

She sipped her drink quietly, scanning the room for information. Merlin’s execution and dramatic exit had been something that had spread even to these four corners. Out here, it had been Merlin had been the one who had tried to stage the coup of Camelot, not Morgana. Out here, Merlin was the wizard that was hunted, not her.

 _Not that anyone should remember me here,_ Morgana thought. It stung that they didn’t know that it had been _her_ who had tried to slice the head off the archaic Pendragon snake that was Uther. It had been _her_ that had tried to give these fools freedom. Gods, there were at least two people in here who had some latent magical ability, Morgana could feel it in the air.

 _Like that man who had been sent by Cassandra,_ Morgana thought. The slimeball who had ruined all of her plans and transported her far away from Camelot. He had been protected by some sort of _magical coin_ which had the creature Medusa emblazoned on it.

 _If they were involved,_ Morgana shook her head. Cassandra and Medusa were creatures of nature, and something that not even she could fight against. Clearly, this time, her fight to free the land from Uther’s tyrannical rule was not to be.

“Excuse me,” a small, round lady said, as she pushed between Morgana and the next patron at the bar, “I’d like to order please.”

Her accent was local, but far broader than most of the locals in even the Pendragon Kingdom. Morgana had only heard one or two people with such an accent, living deep in the vales.

 _But there is something else,_ Morgana thought. She could feel the tingle on her skin, like a cold breeze creeping through an open window. An intuition, that this woman was not normal.

 _She has magic,_ Morgana thought, _like me_.

“Get one of these,” Morgana said, gesturing to her mug.

The woman looked up at Morgana, raising an eyebrow. She had a kind, motherly look about her, but the fiery red hair and the knowledge behind her eyes told Morgana as much as she needed to know. This woman didn’t just have magic, but she was _powerful_.

“Is it strong?” the woman asked.

“Not if you only have one,” Morgana smirked. It was kind of fun playing this character, this warrior. You could get away with all kinds of comments that a princess of Camelot could never dream of getting away with.

“I’ll get a half,” the woman said, nodding at the bartender, “I have to travel in the morning.”

“Where to, if you don’t mind me asking?” Morgana asked.

“North,” the woman said, “a few friends of mine are setting up a new idea, a new school.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, just for a moment. Morgana felt her heart leap into her throat.

 _She knows,_ Morgana thought, _she can sense my magic._

“Far North,” the woman said, looking Morgana up and down, “you a fighter, girl?”

“Of a sort,” Morgana shrugged, trying to look casual, “my brother was always a better fighter than I.”

And it _was_ technically true. Arthur had been the better fighter. But there had been a few times when her sword work had beaten his arse into the ground.

“You looking for work?” the woman said, taking the half tankard from the barman and handing over her coin, “it could pay well.”

“As your bodyguard?” Morgana asked.

“Travelling companion I prefer,” the woman said, “you intrigue me-”

The woman paused, suggesting Morgana should give her name.

“Morgan,” Morgana said, giving her false alias, “Morgan le Fey.”

“Well, Morgan,” the woman said, “I’d appreciate your protection, and your company. What do you say?”

Morgana smiled. This was what she needed. Her route out of Camelot. A chance to regroup and find her route back to her rightful place.

 _But for now,_ she thought, _maybe I can see what the world has to offer me_.

“For sure,” Morgana said, holding out her hand, “and your name is?”

“Helga,” the woman replied, shaking Morgana’s hand tightly, “Helga Hufflepuff.”

x-x-x

 “I hate the dark,” Sirius complained.

“Padfoot, you come out in the _full moon with me,_ ” Remus remarked, _“you’ll be fine_.”

“This wood is creepy,” Sirius whispered back, “it’s like the Forbidden Forest and your worst nightmare gave birth to some unholy love child who then decided that they wanted to try meth.”

“It’s not that bad,” James said.

“It _is_.”

Lily rolled her eyes. Boys, she decided, were idiots. It was a general rule that applied to most of the male species up to the age of about seventeen. Sometimes they got better. Sometimes they didn’t.

 _One hundred percent infuriating,_ she thought. The book was heavy under her clock, a reminder that this walk had to work or they were all screwed.

 _And I do not want to die in medieval Wales,_ Lily thought furiously to herself. At least, she thought they were in the area that one day would become Wales. At this point, she didn’t really care if they were in the land that would become the Antarctic.

As long as they got home.

“You’ll be fine,” James elbowed her gently. Lily scowled at him. It was the famous Lily Evans scowl of screw-with-me-and-your-dead. Every Gryffindor knew it. _Everyone_ knew it.

Apart from stupid James Potter.

“Seriously,” James said, “you’re the best witch in the year, no the _school._ If you can’t summon a dragon then the rest of us mere mortals are hopeless.”

“Thanks, James,” Lily replied sarcastically, “really helping.”

“I’m serious,” he said, “I’ve never seen _anyone_ un-work a bubble charm as fast as you.”

“James, stopping the entire common room filled with bubbles is not _in the slightest_ comparable to summoning a _dragon._ Merlin’s beard, we are screwed,” Lily sighed.

She focussed on her feet, placing one in front of the other. Luckily for them they didn’t have to navigate, having Arthur and his knights accompanying them. They were all somewhat subdued for men who had been told mere hours before that the grand plan to get them home was to summon a dragon.

“Seriously,” James said, “you can do it.”

Lily glared at James. He raised his eyebrows.

“Believe in yourself,” he said, “I do.”

There was kindness in his voice, a genuine kindness. Under the James Potter image was a man who truly cared.

Lily smiled.

“Thanks James,” she said, reaching out to squeeze his hand gently. James’ grin grew twice as wide.

 _You’re going to have to do something about that when you get back,_ Lily told herself, _there is something good there. I believe it._

x-x-x

“Okay,” Arthurs said, pulling the group to a halt, “we’re here.”

They stood on the edge of a small clearing in the trees. Insignificant to passers by, far enough away from any nearby village so that they would not notice what they were trying to do, and close enough to the boarder that his father wouldn’t doubt that their visitors _had_ travelled home.

 _Well, it’s not a lie,_ Arthur thought, _just skirting the truth_.

“Spread out,” Arthur said to the knights, gesturing to his left and right. They were to surround the clearing, looking out for dangers that could attack them from the woods.

 _And attack inwards in case this goes wrong,_ he thought.

The knights did as they were ordered. They trusted Arthur, and whilst they thought the plan was mildly ridiculous, they followed his orders. He was their Prince, the future King, and there was no room for doubt in their minds.

 _But there is room for doubt in mine,_ Arthur thought. He looked back at the four visitors, barely adults, who were peering around them with fear in their eyes.

A sharp whistle came from the other side of the clearing. The Knights were in position.

“Ready?” Arthur said to Lily. She nodded, clearly nervous.

“Let’s get you home,” Arthur said, striding out into the clearing. He wasn’t sure how much help he could be, just a mere mortal with a sword, but he couldn’t watch from the side-lines. The four visitors might be magicians, but they were still out of place, out of time.

Vulnerable.

Arthur stopped, giving Lily some space. James, Remus and Sirius stood back from her as well. They all had their wands drawn, waiting for something.

Lily placed the book on the grass, kneeling down in front of it. With a gesture, she created a light that hovered just above her head, allowing her to read.

 _It almost seems natural, now,_ Arthur thought. Just a case of convincing his father of that fact. Only then could Merlin return to Camelot.

Moments passed as Lily studied the text, wand waving in front of her in complicated movements. She was apparently the best at “charms”, as Remus had called it, so chosen for this task. Even Gauis had commented on how complicated the spell was. Arthur wasn’t envious of her task at all.

Suddenly, Lily’s hand shot up into the sky, as a blue flash of light erupted from the end of her wand and shot high into the sky. Arthur was forced to look away, as the light flooded the clearing.

The light disappeared. Darkness claimed the clearing once more.

Silence. Arthur couldn’t even hear the natural song of the nightbirds which would sing at night.

“It’s done?” Sirius asked. James rushed forward to help Lily stagger to her feet.

“I think so,” Lily said, sounding exhausted, “I don’t know, there was one bit where I had to guess because the writing was too hard to decipher in the light-”

A roar echoed through the clouds.

Arthur fell into battle stance with easy, hand ready to draw his sword. Sirius and Remus pointed their wands at the sky, as James scooped up the book and helped Lily stagger behind Arthur.

Arthur scanned the skies above, but the cloud cover was thick tonight.

Another roar echoed across the sky, this one louder. The trees shook around them.

“Be ready!” Arthur shouted.

A shadow fell from the clouds, wings spread to land. Arthur leapt out of the way as the dragon landed mere feet in front of him.

Arthur knew how big dragons were, but being this close to one was something else. It filled almost the entire clearing, even with its tail curled around to fit in the space. With every breath, the leaves rustled, and even when it just shifted its weight on its huge limbs, the ground felt like it shook underfoot.

But it was the intelligence in its eyes that scared Arthur the most. The eyes held knowledge of eons, of magic, and of a world that Arthur was only just starting to understand.

Arthur recognised the dragon. It was the one that his father had kept locked up underneath Camelot for years. Even in the dim light, he could see the indentations on the Dragon’s scales where shackles had once been.

Kilgharrah, his father had called this beast, the great dragon.

“Who called me?” Kilgharrah said. Even the dragon’s voice spoke of magic, of power.

Lily squared her shoulders.

“I did,” she said, shaking off James’ support and stepping forward. She still looked exhausted, and terrified. Arthur kept a careful eye on Kilgharrah, ready to pounce.

“Mmmm,” Kilgharrah said, bending his neck so he could look at Lily on her eye level. The dragon’s huge head almost dwarfed Lily. Arthur tried to push the fear out of his mind.

 _If this goes wrong,_ he thought, _there is no beating this beast._

“And why would a young magic wielder like yourself come in such esteemed company?” Kilgharrah said, gaze flicking towards Arthur, “and why do you call me?”

“We need help,” Lily said, “we are not from this time. We were told that you could, you could help us get back to our time.”

The dragon nodded, rumbling in agreement.

“And why,” Kilgharrah said, swinging his huge head towards Arthur, “is Emrys not here?”

Arthur’s words stuck in his throat under Kilgharrah’s imposing gaze.

“My father,” Arthur said, “has made a mistake. I hope to change his mind, but until I do, Merlin-”

“Your destiny is to lead this Kingdom to greatness, Arthur Pendragon,” Kilgharrah said, “I will help your friends, but only if you remember this. Your destiny and that of Emrys’ are intertwined. You might fight for it. You must follow it. You _must_ create what destiny has said you will create.”

Arthur nodded. He would, he _had_ to get Merlin back to Camelot _._ Merlin was his closest advisor and friend. Without him, Arthur felt like he was missing part of himself.

If that meant following some prophetic plan, then so be it. As long as Merlin was safe.

“I will,” Arthur said, looking towards Lily, Remus, Sirius and James, “can you help them? Can you help them return to their time?”

Kilgharrah nodded.

“Stand back,” Kilgharrah said. Arthur stepped backwards towards the safety of the wood at the edge of the clearing, as did the other four.

Kilgharrah drew himself up to his fall height, sitting on his hind legs and neck stretched high.

A cold wind rushed from the woods behind them, making Arthur jump in surprise. The air was a biting, winter wind, like nothing he had ever experienced. The cold turned a few of the leaves black with frostbite as it passed, coalescing in the middle of the clearing in a twisting mass of air.

Kilgharrah looked down on the mass of swirling air, gently breathing on it. Flame licked out of the end of the dragon’s mouth, curling through the air and touching the cold air. Instantly, the air shuddered, as if it were alive, splitting apart like a pair of curtains around a window.

A doorway appeared. Beyond it, Arthur could make out a dark, stone wall.

A castle.

“I cannot hold it open for long,” Kilgharrah said, “you must be quick.”

Arthur walked over to the four magicians who were looking at the door with apprehension.

“Go,” he said, “quickly. And be safe.”

“We will,” Lily replied.

James passed the heavy book of spells to Arthur.

“Say thanks to Gauis for us,” James said, sincerely, “and thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Arthur said, taking the book.

“And say hi to Merlin for us,” Remus said.

“Yeh, tell him to grow a beard!” Sirius said, “we need something to swear on!”

“I will,” Arthur said. He couldn’t help smiling. Maybe, one day, Merlin would be able to return to Camelot.

_One day._

“Go!” Arthur said, “and goodbye.”

A chorus of “byes” and “farewells” came from the four magicians, as they turned towards the doorway and hurried through to the other side.

As soon as Sirius stepped through the door, bringing up the rear, the doorway snapped shut.

Kilgharrah looked down on Arthur.

“Remember your promise, young Prince,” the dragon said.

Arthur nodded.

“I won’t,” he replied.

Kilgharrah nodded, satisfied. With that, the huge dragon launched himself into the sky. Arthur covered his face as the air from the Dragon’s wings almost forced him to his knees.

Within seconds, the dragon was gone. Silence fell over the clearing once more.

“So,” Lancelot said, stepping out into the clearing along with the remaining knights, “what do we do now?”

“We go home,” Arthur said, walking to the centre of the clearing, “and find a way to get Merlin back to Camelot.”

“Great,” Gwaine said, gesturing in the near-darkness “I was going to suggest we find a light. How _do_ we get around without some magician creating light out of thin air.”

“Always practical,” Percival’s remarked.

“Let’s make camp here,” Arthur said, “It’s too far to travel tonight, and there is no need to risk travel at night. Then we go back to Camelot tomorrow morning.”

“And then get your father to change his mind,” Leon remarked.

“Easy,” Gwaine said, setting down his pack and getting out the tinder and flint to start a fire, “it’s not like Uther is known for being stubborn.”

“It’s apparently my destiny to do so,” Arthur said, “we’ll work something out. Merlin will get back to Camelot”

 _I hope so,_ he thought.

x-x-x

“The problem with time,” Cassandra said, “it that it is never linear.”

Severus stared at Cassandra, trying to peer into her mind. However, there was nothing but silence which greeted his probe, deathly, eerie silence.

“You see,” Cassandra said, “you always want a beginning, a middle, and an end. That makes sense, whilst you’re alive, but you see, Severus, you are not alive.”

“I am alive,” Severus retorted.

“You died,” Cassandra said, “and so you passed outside of time. Please, sit down.”

Severus glared at Cassandra, looking at the rock which she gestured too. There was something unnerving about her, a power, a sense of _energy_ which Severus had only seen in one other person.

Voldemort.

And so he sat down.

“You died,” Cassandra said, “an event which will happen. It is as written into the lines of time as much as the sun will always rise in the sky.”

“Are you always this good at delivering bad news?” Severus said, “Or just for me?”

“It is what it is,” Cassandra said, “the truth, sometimes, should not be wrapped up in illusions which soften it. To do so would be to lose its meaning.”

“And yet you speak in riddles,” Severus said.

“I only speak in riddles because you do not understand,” Cassandra said, “you are not here to _live,_ Severus Snape, you came here to die, as all things eventually do. You just decided to take a more, how shall we say it, _roundabout_ route to it.”

“Why me?” Severus said, “you could have used anyone-”

“No,” Cassandra interrupted, “not anyone. You see, death is not something you walk away from easily. You have to want to walk away from that peace, and you have to _really_ want something that is on the other side. You have to want it enough to turn your back on the silence of death and walk towards life again.”

“You make it sound like a bad thing,” Severus said, “wanting to live is no bad thing.”

“Death does not escape us,” Cassandra said, “you have merely re-written your ending. Time has been re-written, and you were the fool willing enough to do it.”

“I am not a fool,” Severus hissed.

Cassandra scoffed.

“You are a fool,” Cassandra said, “because you blindly follow your desires with no thought as to their consequences. And you did not realise that whilst your presence has, in fact, altered the course of time itself, there are some fixed points in time that will never change. Love is one of them.”

“What do you know of love,” Severus spat.

“I know what it is when I see it,” Cassandra said, “and I also know what desperation is. Your life has been spent serving an idea that you were willing to walk out of the jaws of death for, without realising that you can never have it.”

“And you?” Severus said, pulling out the coin in his pocket, “tell me Cassandra, how is it that you escape the jaws of death?”

Cassandra glanced down at the coin that sat in the palm of Severus’ hand. The gold glinted dimly, the residue magic leaking out of the crack in the coin and letting out a slither of light.

“That is Medusa,” Severus said, pointing at the coin. It was oddly satisfying to see Cassandra almost taken aback by his statement. As if she hadn’t expected the statement.

 _There are some things that I am not a fool at,_ Severus thought.

“She and I are locked in an eternal battle,” Cassandra said, “death, in the traditional sense does not apply to either one of us. But this time, the boatman took her soul as payment from our most recent death. It is because of this that I am alive.”

“Is there a way-” Severus started.

“No,” Cassandra interrupted. She gestured with her hand, making Severus flinch with the sharp movement. In her open palm, a crystal glass began to coalesce from the air. It was a simple tumbler, but the way it glistened in the dim light showed that it wasn’t made from normal crystal. This was different.

“You will die, like the rest of the mortals on this very tiny planet,” Cassandra said, proffering the glass to Severus, “and you will meet your death like every other person has before you.”

Severus looked at the glass and looked up at Cassandra. He rarely felt fear, but there was something in Cassandra’s voice that suggested he had no choice.

He hated not having a choice.

“You must,” Cassandra said.

“Why?” Severus asked.

“Because you’re living off borrowed time,” Cassandra said, reaching up and hovering her hand over the edge of Severus’ neck. Where the scar was.

_Where I was bitten by the snake. At least, I think I was?_

“You have given your past self a second chance,” Cassandra said, holding the tumbler in front of Severus, “you have done what you need to do.”

Severus stared at Cassandra. He could feel the fear, the fear that every human would feel when confronted with their inevitable mortality.

 _Apart from Voldemort,_ Severus thought, _but then that is why I am not like him. I was never like him._

Severus swiped the tumbler from Cassandra’s hand and downed the clear contents in one gulp.

“Goodbye, Severus Snape,” Cassandra said. Severus tried to reply, but the effect of the liquid was instantaneous. His speech slurred, the whole world spun.

Darkness claimed him.

x-x-x

_Hogwarts - 1977_

Lily slammed a book on the table.

“Merlin’s sweet beard, Lily,” Sirius swore, “can you not like _sneak up on us with huge books?_ ”

“Found it,” Lily said, sitting down as she pushed the papers away from the desk. They were _supposed_ to be working on Charms homework, but Lily naturally had already finished. She was trying to find what had happened after they left.

“Found what?” Peter squeaked. He was still fresh out of the hospital wing, and as fragile as a small, injured bird. Sirius and James had been mothering him somewhat since, but he was on the mend. It was good to have the four of them, the Marauders, back together again.

 _Although Lily is kind of like the fifth Marauder by now,_ he thought. It had only taken a week since they had gotten back for James to officially ask Lily on a date. Now they had been dating almost a month, it was near enough official.

“This,” Lily said, flipping open the book and running her finger down the index, “is the official Chronical of one King Arthur.”

“Cool,” James said, leaning over her shoulder. Even Remus looked up from his papers to peer at the book.

She tapped her finger twice on one of the entries.

“Here,” she said, turning the pages to find the relevant entry.

“What does it say?” Sirius asked.

“It’s about Arthur’s adventures,” Lily said, “or more precisely mis-adventures. It even mentions the Hydra!”

“Oooo, are we mentioned?” Sirius said.

Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really,” she remarked, “Sirius, they aren’t going to mention _us_. We’re hardly going to be mentioned hundreds of years into the future.”

“So what _does_ it say?” Peter asked.

Lily scanned the words.

“That there were no patterns to each occurrence,” Lily said, “no outside force, not Morgana or another enemy of Camelot. Seemingly random events, but with one connecting factor.”

“What?” James said.

Lily turned the page. On it, there were two pictures, one of a woman with blonde hair and a bandage covering her face, the other with a woman whose face was surrounded by emerald green snakes.

“Cassandra?” Sirius said, “but wasn’t she some force of nature? Why would she be involved?”

“I guess, because she wanted to nudge the in a direction,” Lily said, “Gauis said that they were creatures of nature, designed to distort and amend. It says here that each event happened at a particular important point. But there are two events that were even more strange.”

Lily turned the page.

“What?” Remus asked.

“They disappeared,” she said, “both Arthur and Merlin, twice. The book says they disappeared from Camelot around fourteen hundred years ago, but the records are not clear about _when_ they went.”

“They disappeared?” James said.

“Hang on,” Peter said, “ _when?”_

Lily peered closer at the page.

“It definitely says _when_ ,” Lily said, pointing at the word for James to clarify.

“Yep,” James said “that’s a “when”.”

“They time travelled?” Remus said, “like we did? But why?”

Lily was about to answer when she was interrupted.

“And look what we have here,” a snide, drooling voice said from behind Sirius.

Sirius growled, turning round to see the smug smile of Snivallus Snape standing behind them, cloaked in his Slytherin robes like they were a shield. Even his large nose and hooded eyes looked sinister at this age, let alone at his creepy old-man age they had met back in Camelot.

“I don’t know why you associate yourself with these people, Evans,” Snivallus said.

“I can associate with whoever I want, Sev,” Lily snapped, “I’m a free person.”

“Clear off,” Sirius said, “no one want’s you here. And it’s a Library, which means luckily for you we _can’t_ hex you into next week.”

“Just try me, Black,” Snivellus said, his face curling into a smile. Sirius tried to get up, but Peter glanced at him.

“I would love to,” Sirius said, “but I’ve already got 6 points on my library card. Another three and I’ll be banned. With NEWTS coming up next year I just don’t think I could _cope_.”

Sirius made sure every word was dripping with sarcasm, loathing and hatred. Snape fulfilled every aspect of the Slytherin greatness that he hated about his own family. Where his family wouldn’t listen or care to his feelings or hatred, Snivellus would have to suffice.

“Just don’t get too lax, Black,” Snivellus said, “I would hate for you to miss your exams because of me.”

“Just piss off,” James remarked, “leave us be.”

“Such a threat,” Snivellus said to James, “you’re getting slow in your old-age Potter.”

“Fuck off, Sev” Lily said flatly, “now.”

Sirius could barely keep a straight face as Snivellus’ eyebrows almost shot into his receding oily hairline. He heard James barely maintain his snicker behind him.

“Whatever you wish, Evans,” Snivellus said, clearly hurt that it had been Lily to tell him to leave. He skulked off down the corridor, cape sweeping behind him.

“We,” Sirius said, turning to Lily, “are going to have to talk about your language. Even if it is muggle swear words.”

“Oh please,” Lily said, dryly, “muggle swear words are only appropriate at times.”

“I’m so proud,” James said, pulling Lily into a hug, “so proud.”

“This calls for cake,” Sirius said, “Remus, you bring the cake?”

“Library cake is the best kind of cake,” Remus said, pulling the box of cake they had snuck in from Hogsmede over the weekend.

They each took a piece of cake from the box. Sirius took one of the largest pieces.

After all it was _chocolate_ cake.

x-x-x

_Camelot - around fourteen hundred years ago_

There were always those moments where Merlin had to pinch himself to _just make sure_ that he wasn’t dreaming. Even just this act of walking down a corridor with Arthur just felt _surreal._

In the months after Arthur’s ascension to the throne, there was a noticeable change in the air. It wasn’t as if Arthur could undo all of his father’s actions, nor would he want to, but there was a sense of a new direction being set out.

The most significant change wasn’t when Arthur had repealed Merlin’s banishment, or when Merlin had returned to Camelot. No, that would be given to the fact that Arthur had made a new position, Court Warlock and had then given the position to Merlin along with a title, some lands in the corner of the Kingdom, and a friendly hug.

The feeling of strangeness would never go away. Regardless of the change in laws, his new position, even Arthur’s vocal approval of magic, it would take time for society to accept magic into their lives again. Merlin could see the distrust behind some of the servers’ eyes, especially the new ones. There was a grating respect because of his title, but it was grating.

“Are you thinking of that school again?” Arthur said, elbowing Merlin out of his thoughts.

“No,” Merlin said, “and there is something to be said of teaching magic. Even Morgana seemed to be interested with the idea of teaching.”

“I still don’t trust her,” Arthur said, “but maybe this might be her route back.”

“It will take time,” Merlin said, as they turned down another corridor towards Arthur’s private quarters, “you cannot unwrite prejudices overnight.”

“I know,” Arthur said. He sounded frustrated. The man was optimistic and saw the best in people, he didn’t factor in the fact that not everyone would let go of old run prejudices overnight.

They stopped outside Arthur’s private meeting room, as Arthur held up his hand to Merlin.

“What?” Merlin said.

Arthur nodded to the door, which was ajar.

Merlin nodded as Arthur placed his hand on his sword. It had been Merlin’s gift to Arthur, something to say thank you for all Arthur had done for him. A sword imbued with deep magic, one that only Arthur could activate.

 _The fact he can activate the magic is bad enough,_ Merlin thought. It was a problem they had been discussing for many months, logically the fact Arthur _could_ access the sword’s magic meant that he had some sort of underlying latent magical ability. Merlin was still trying to work out a series of tests to determine how much ability Arthur had, and whether he could teach Arthur any basic defensive spells, just in case.

 _A problem for another day,_ Merlin thought, nodding at Arthur.

Arthur placed his free hand on the door handle, pushing it open as Merlin readied a spell to throw at the intruder.

“Close the door,” Cassandra said, sitting at Arthur’s desk, “please.”

Merlin almost spat out the spell in shock as Arthur’s jaw dropped.

“I have need of you,” Cassandra said, “please.”

She looked alive. She certainly looked less dead than when Merlin had last seen her in the bottom of the cavern. She wore a simple white dress, not the same rags she had been wearing when they had first met her, and she wore her hair up in a tight headscarf.

She did not wear a scarf to cover her eyes this time. Her eyes looked at them sightlessly, expecting compliance with her demands.

“How did you get here,” Arthur said, stepping into the room. Merlin followed him, gesturing with his hand to close the door.

“That does not matter,” Cassandra replied, her eyes glancing off to the left as if she could see something that Merlin and Arthur could not “I need your assistance.”

“Our assistance?” Arthur said, “you know we can’t just drop everything to help you.”

“Not to help me,” Cassandra said, “your friends.”

“From the future?” Merlin said, “they went back. They’re okay, Medusa can’t get them there.”

“Time does not have a hold over the dead,” Cassandra said forcefully, “and Medusa has escaped death and will harm your friends if you do not stop her.”

 _What do you want from us?_ Merlin thought. He could not remember Gauis’ words when they had been searching for a way to send the four students back to their own time, that Cassandra was a meddler, a force of nature whose purpose was to re-write time.

“Why is that our problem?” Arthur said.

“Because the man who saved you from your cells when Morgana captured Camelot’s keep needs to save you from those cells. And if he doesn’t, you will die.”

“You’re talking about time being re-written,” Merlin said, “you can’t just re-write history.”

Cassandra smirked. Merlin wanted to mutter a few spells in her direction to wipe the grin off her face. It reminded him too much of Morgana’s cockiness.

When humans, mere, mortal humans, thought they were more powerful than the forces of the universe, things never went well. And even if Gauis had said that Cassandra _was_ a force of nature, there were natural rules that had to be followed.

Time was one of them.

“And why would you be so certain that we would die?” Merlin asked.

“I have seen it,” Cassandra said simply.

Merlin frowned.

“I can see past this timeline,” Cassandra waved her hand in the air, “there are multiple timelines out there and each one has a different action on it. Medusa’s appearance in the future has changed things, changed _time_ and what was written now could be un-written. Her appearance will cause a series of events that will mean the man known as Serverus Snape does not want to come back to help you.”

“That doesn’t mean we will die,” Merlin said, “if it’s just one possibility-”

“It will happen,” Cassandra interrupted.

“And we should trust you because?” Arthur added.

“Do you want to risk dying?” Cassandra replied.

Merlin could see Arthur’s frustration rising. His own frustration was rising.

 _It’s because she’s right, gods damn her,_ Merlin thought. His destiny was to protect Arthur, and Arthur’s destiny was to be King of Camelot and take it to a new, peaceful, greatness. If, somehow, Cassandra was right about them dying before that could be achieved, destiny would not be fulfilled.

The alternative universe would play out, which would be a place where magic wasn’t accepted, where Uther’s war on magic continued, where Morgana ruled Camelot.

Arthur glanced at Merlin. He didn’t have to say anything for Merlin to understand.

Merlin nodded.

 _So we’re doing this_ , Merlin thought.

“You will not be away from your Kingdom for long Arthur,” Cassandra explained, noting the look, “but if you don’t go, she will stop Severus Snape from coming back in time, and so you will die.”

“When do we need go?” Arthur asked.

Cassandra waved her hand in a complex series of movements. Merlin grimaced as a bright light appeared suddenly, spinning outwards to create a huge sphere of light which was almost as tall as Arthur.

“Now” Cassandra replied.

“Go save your friends, and yourselves,” Cassandra said, “or you will die never knowing you had another choice.”

Arthur glanced at Merlin, before stepping determinedly into the light.

“If you’re lying about any of this,” Merlin warned, “I will make you pay.”

Cassandra smiled.

“I would expect nothing else of you, Emrys,” she replied.

Merlin stepped into the light.

And landed on his face.

“Merlin, what have I told you about picking your feet up?” Arthur commented.

Merlin looked up at Arthur, making a face as he pushed himself up from the floor. He looked behind him, where he had just come from, but there was nothing. No light, no doorway.

“I hope Cassandra was right,” Merlin said.

“Only one way to find out,” Arthur said, “but first we need to work out where we are.”

“Somewhere where the weather is awful,” Merlin muttered as a few droplets of rain began to cascade from the heavy, grey sky. It was cold, not the biting wet cold of winter, but the wetter cold of autumn. The orange and golden leaves on the trees around them seemed to suggest so. It was like they were in a forest, but not the kind of forests which he was used to in Camelot. This seemed to feel man-made, the trees were too uniform, the ground underfoot was not covered in leaves. In the distance, he could just about see a seat under the trees.

 _Some kind of parkland?_ Merlin thought. Camelot didn’t have park lands, the land was mostly arable or forest, but some of the neighbouring kingdoms would keep huge parks in their major cities to demonstrate their wealth and power.

“Thank you for your powers of observation,” Arthur remarked. Merlin was just about to retort when Arthur walked past him to a piece of paper lying on the floor.

“Somewhere in the future,” Merlin said, glancing towards the sky. It was raining, the water droplets seeping easily through Merlin and Arthur’s clothes, “somewhere where it rains.”

“Your observations are second to none Merlin,” Arthur said dryly, as he picked up the piece of paper. Thunder cracked overhead, sending light lancing through the heavy grey sky. Arthur drew his sword, scanning the shadows for danger.

“What’s that?” Merlin asked.

“Some sort of paper,” Arthur said, handing it to Merlin. Merlin flashed a spell over the paper, drying it out instantly whilst he created an invisible barrier over himself and Arthur, protecting them from the worst of the rain.

“It’s like some kind of newspaper,” Merlin said, pointing at the title which had _Godric’s Hollow Times_ scrawled over it. The writing was mostly faded, and even the pictures had been blotted beyond all repair by the rain.

“31 October 1981,” Arthur said, pointing to the numbers next to the title of paper, “that must be the date.”

“Weird way to write the date,” Merlin said, scanning through the paper for any more useful information. However, even though the spell had dried out the pages, the writing in the rest of it was totally unreadable.

 _Not much use,_ Merlin thought, as he tossed the paper away from the protection of the barrier spell and into the rain. In minutes, it was a sodden mess once more.

“So what do we do now?” Merlin asked, “Cassandra said we needed to save someone? This looks like a sleepy town not a warzone.”

Before Arthur could answer, the thunder cracked again above. However, this time, it was a green light which flung high up into the sky, making the clouds coalesce into a horrific skull like shape in the sky.

“What was that?” Arthur asked.

A scream pierced the silence of the night.

 

x-x-x

 

_To be continued_

_in_

_The Stuff of Myth_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, story one of three is complete! Thank you to all of those who have taken the time to comment or leave Kudos on this story over the last (almost!) two years. This re-write project is a mammoth undertaking, and every piece of feedback really helps me continue working on it. 
> 
> I hope to start work on the sequel, _The Stuff of Myth_ soon. If you want to keep track of future updates, please either follow my author A03 or the Series that I've made [_Of Legends, Myths and Nightmares_](http://archiveofourown.org/series/872481) so you can be updated when I start posting!
> 
> Special thanks to aadamoo, whose original post on Merlin_Finders I stumbled upon around 2 years ago gave me the kick I needed to start up this project. Also special thanks to whoever updated the TV Tropes entry for this story (can be found [here](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanficRecs/Merlin2008) if you're interested). 
> 
> And most of all, special thanks to everyone whose come to read this story, either re-reading from the first time I posted back in 2010, or for the first time this time around. I am blown away by the interest in this series, and you are all seriously wonderful people.
> 
> As always, comments or kudos make my day! Thank you all for joining me on this journey, and hope to see you along for the ride when I re-write _The Stuff of Myth_.


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